Bunga Bangkai
by J. D. Roxburgh
Summary: Maura's past comes back to haunt her. Prompt given to me by octobersky69. Set after the end of Season 2 after the shooting and I take it my own direction from there. They haven't made up so be prepared for non-Rizzles as we start. Rated T for the language & danger *I own nothing* FINAL CHAPTER 21 inc original prompt UP!
1. Chapter 1

_**This was a story prompt given to me by octobersky69, thank you so much for giving it to me :) hope this will do ur idea justice.**_

_**It is set after the end of Season 2 after the shooting and I take it my own direction from there. They havent made up so be prepared for non-Rizzles as we start.**_

_**Rated T for the language & upcoming chapters, may have to change to an M depending on what happens!**_

_**Due to people complaining about length of chapters in other stories I am aiming to lengthen them in this story, stick with me I may not be updating as regularly as normal as I try and get a decent wordcount out :)**_

_**If you prefer happy go lucky Rizzles fluff and smut check out my other stories, this probably won't make you happy, at least not for the moment!**_

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Maura could still see the body crashing to the floor, over and over again. As she raced over to the crumpled form the emotions swirling inside her were a potent mix: anger, love, sadness and betrayal formed a torrent inside her that physically hurt. The stabbing to her heart and the steep drop in her stomach made her head feel like it was swimming. As she gazed as the bloodied face beneath her every cell in her body trembled and shook.

"Don't touch him! No, I mean it! Don't you dare touch him!"

Those words and the unbridled emotions that hardened Maura's face would forever haunt Jane. Those soft hazel eyes glared at her with an ice cold quality that still somehow managed to burn with the fury behind them. Since the argument outside the warehouse Jane hadn't seen her best friend. It made her feel nauseous and empty to know just how much Maura hated her. It was impossible to decide which made her angrier, the fact that Maura refused to talk or see her or the fact that Jane's gut was still insisting she did the right thing.

Maura was sat next to her mother in the hospital when the ringing of her phone snapped her out of her daze. "Doctor Isles." Her usual greeting was short and snappy, the events of the past few days having worn down her habitual politeness born out of the upbringing Constance had insisted on. She barely listened to the voice on the end of the phone as her mind wandered back through her childhood with Constance. Tears formed in her eyes as Paddy Doyle came to the forefront of her mind and she shook her head rapidly to concentrate.

As Jane made her way toward the address Frost had text her near the old harbour she couldn't help but replay the events of that day back in her mind. She felt her chin begin to tremble as she thought back to the moment when Maura turned her back on her, the stern almost cruel look in her eyes sent a chill down her spine. Jane took a deep breath and stalked her way toward the cordoned off area where Frost was waiting for her. As she took in the large building memories did their best to flash before her eyes, the building was an old one, similar to the warehouse where... she stopped herself and dug her nails into the scars on her palms, the short sharp pain was enough to bring her into the present and she set her jaw and ducked under the police tape.

Maura frowned as she took in the sight of the body. Something felt awfully familiar about it but she gave a small shake of her head, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her breath caught in her chest as she heard those familiar footsteps echo in the large room. She took an extra moment before she opened her eyes, gritting her teeth she forced herself to focus solely on the body in front of her.

Jane had initially thought it odd that Frost was waiting outside for her and hadn't followed her in but as the almighty stench hit her and rolled her stomach she fully understood. Jane grimaced, she had always had a strong constitution when it came to stuff like this but the smell was so overpowering it was difficult to think of anything else. Her attention was stolen, however, as she made her way further into the large room following the smell and was greeted by the sight of Maura crouched over the body, no one else in sight.

The medical examiner would have paid to let Dr Pike take this case but according to Cavanaugh she was the only ME available. The last thing she wanted was to be in the same room as Jane, let alone in an otherwise empty room because no one else could stand the pungent smell. She pressed her lips into a thin line and reprimanded herself, this was work, nothing more and she could be professional. Her determination faltered slightly as she remembered it was Jane...professionalism wasn't exactly her strong suit when it came to personal matters. Her thoughts flashed back to their confrontation over Tommy and she felt another sinking feeling in her stomach. _Keep everything to the point, don't give her an opportunity. In and out._

As Jane got closer to the body she saw the grim expression on the ME's face and she would have bet her life savings, if she had any, that it had nothing to do with the body but her presence. She felt her anger and irritation begin to bubble up and prickle behind her eyes but she clenched her fists and jaw simultaneously and took a deep breath which let the smell of rotting flesh seep into her. She could feel herself wanting to gag but the last thing she was going to do was give Maura the satisfaction of being the only one able to cope with the odour. _Breathe through your mouth Rizzoli, get the facts then get the fuck out._

Maura frowned as she examined the body in situ, decomposition had not begun, rigor was in its very early stages and the temperature of the body indicated the time of death somewhere around three hours previous. There was no evidence of any larvae nor eggs that would speed decomposition. As Jane came closer Maura noticed something sticking out from under the body. She attempted to roll the corpse over but struggled, the victim, a Caucasian male who appeared to be in his 40s, had an incredible body mass and was very heavy.

Jane saw the medical examiner attempting to roll the body over and she sped up to reach her, snapping on her gloves. "Need a hand?" she may as well have said nothing for all the response she got. Maura neither replied nor even glanced her way. Jane sucked in her top lip and bit down on it to stop herself from snapping at her. Inside she just crouched down and assisted in rolling the body onto its side, pulling it closer to her own body and holding it there.

The tremendous reek that surged out from under the body brought tears to Maura's eyes that she blinked away rapidly not wanting to humiliate herself, this worry was quickly vanquished however as she heard the detective opposite her try to hold back a gag. She felt a small sense of satisfaction in spite of herself. Surveying the back of the body it was clear it wasn't the corpse itself, as she looked down curiously at the object lying on the floor she felt her head begin to spin. She tried to blink away the dizziness but the more she gazed at the unusual article the more she could feel faintness approaching.

Jane glanced at Maura as soon as she gagged and ground her teeth when she saw a flash of smugness on the medical examiner's face. She was about to say something when she saw the ME's face pale completely. Maura blinked rapidly as she began to sway, Jane looked down at the squashed thing lying under the body and back up to Maura. She couldn't understand it, Maura had seemed fine, so why did she look like she had seen a ghost? As Jane looked back at the medical examiner she saw her eyes roll back into her head and cried out as Maura fell back onto the hard floor. Jane dropped the body and raced over to Maura's side trying to rouse her.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A fair few people are confused by the title of this story, hopefully it will become apparent in this chapter :)**_

_**Also if anyone is a fan of my work there are some Rizzles fan awards opening in a matter of hours...hint hint ;) if you google it you will see the links to it - i'd love it if i were nominated :)**_

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Maura's eyes fluttered open to see Jane's worried face gazing down at her. Maura smiled affectionately at her best friend before the painful memories came racing back and flooded her mind. She watched as the relief in Jane's face quickly disappeared as her face fell in despair at the change in her own expression. Maura tried to get as far away from her as possible but felt her head swoon again and was forced to lie back down.

When the ME opened her eyes and smiled at her Jane felt a huge wave of relief and happiness wash over but even as she looked into those hazel eyes she saw the flame suddenly reignite and the steel clouded the hazel. She sighed as Maura tried to get up and presumably away from her but her annoyance paled as the medical examiner fell back.

Maura felt sick to her stomach and couldn't decide if it was the smell, if she had hit her head, or the fact that Jane was cradling her head. She should have been thanking her, she should have been grateful; instead she could only see red, her rage failing to subside. Once she felt more stable she sat up and briskly brushed Jane away from her, ignoring the hurt look the detective gave her.

Jane tried not to feel rejected and upset as Maura shrugged her off and shot her a look that could only be described as disgust, but it hurt her deeply and she felt as if she had been winded. She focused her gaze on the scars on her palms, her vision blurred by the tears swimming in her eyes and she grimaced as she clenched her fists as hard as she could wanting to feel any other pain than the emotional one she was feeling.

"Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum. A tuberous plant endemic to western Sumatra, where it grows in openings in rainforest on limestone hills. Locals know it by the more evocative name 'corpse flower' bunga bangkai, because of the hideous stench the fly-pollinated inflorescences produce." Maura wandered over and gently fingered the flattened large glossy fuchsia flower. "Unusual to find here, it is very difficult to grow and very expensive." Maura felt herself becoming queasy again the more she looked at it. She frowned, it wasn't the smell, in fact she had become quite acclimatised to it, it was more that it was disturbing her and she couldn't quite place her finger on why. "Parts of this particular plant are poisonous. The corpse flower can be-"

Maura stopped her googlemouth flow abruptly and Jane turned sharply to look at her. Once again the ME had gone deathly pale and her usually rock steady hands were trembling furiously. Jane slowly made her way over to the medical examiner and crouched down next to her. She placed a tentative hand on Maura's knee and was surprised when it wasn't removed. "Maur?"

Maura could feel the bile rising up at the back of her throat and she swallowed rapidly. Something wasn't right but she had no idea why but there was a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach, a dreading feeling. She stood up sharply, almost stumbling back from the head rush and felt Jane's hand on her lower back steadying her. She looked into her best friend's chocolate eyes that were flooded with worry, concern and compassion. Something within Maura wanted to reach out and gather comfort in her friend's arms but she steeled herself. _You are being irrational, quite probably due to the stress of the last few days, caused by Jane no less. _She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that it wasn't bothering her. _Pull yourself together Maura, you are a Doctor. We do not listen to our intestines._

Jane could see the thoughts racing through the ME's mind and she searched Maura's face for any kind of clue as to what was going on but found the medical examiner unusually unreadable. Jane frowned, this wasn't just the whole Paddy Doyle thing, something was bugging her and she was trying to block it out, as well as Jane. "Maur..."

The gentle husky voice of the detective snapped Maura out of her nebulous thoughts and she span on her heels and walked briskly out of the building calling to Jane over her shoulder "You will receive my findings in the autopsy report."

Jane watched her best friend vanish out of the door and felt the worry niggling at her, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up and her stomach to roll over. When she could no longer see Maura she turned back to the strange purple plant on the floor and snapped a photo of it on her phone.

Maura managed to hold it together as she passed colleagues and barked out instructions in a more vigorous tone than usual. As soon as she sat behind the wheel of her car however she broke down, heavy tears rolled down her face, forceful sobs wracked her body and she gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. She sucked in as deeper breaths as she could manage to try and calm herself. She was shocked at the overwhelming emotions she was feeling and had no clue as to why they were there. Certainly she had not gotten to recommended or preferred amount of sleep over the past few days but she felt positively hysterical. She wiped away the tears as she felt her composure returning.

Jane came out of the building and was confronted by Frost who was reeling off information about the victim, relatives and possible suspects. She did her best to listen to him but she was focused on the photo of the flower on her phone.

"Jane?"

She looked at him guiltily and handed him the phone "Find out what you can about that, it's some kind of plant Titan something Maura says."

"You two ok? She seemed kinda mad when she came out?"

Jane looked away from his questioning gaze and simply began walking away, not in the mood to discuss that particular subject. As she walked away from him she saw Maura sitting in her car wiping her eyes looking like she had been crying.

Maura looked up and saw Jane walking toward the car, she couldn't handle her now, she didn't have the strength to go over what happened and she couldn't provide an explanation as to what had just happened to her. She turned the key in the ignition and started up the car. She sighed as she saw Jane speed up and began running toward her car.

Jane managed to slap the rear end of Maura's car as she sped away, she growled in frustration as she watched her drive off into the distance. She took her hair out of the tie and ran her hand through it. _Something's not right here and I'm sure as hell not gonna just let it go._


	3. Chapter 3

_**This story will begin unravelling but it's all a bit of a mystery to the characters so it needs time to unravel, stick with it tho, all will soon make sense :)**_

_**If you like this check out my other stories :)**_

_**There is another round of Rizzles fanfic competition...hint hint ;)**_

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Maura made a quick pit stop before heading to the precinct, it would take a while for the body to arrive and she wanted to check on Constance. Her mother lay weak and frail in the large hospital bed, it was an odd sight to see such a commanding woman in that way, almost like she had shrunk. Maura was given a brief overview of her condition, she was recovering well and would be out within a matter of days. Satisfied, Maura began to leave the hospital when her thoughts turned to Paddy Doyle. _Hope._ That was what he had said. Maura didn't understand what did he hope for? Her forgiveness? Her love? She found herself wandering to his room. He still hadn't woken up and the machines around him gave off a steady rhythm of bleeps. She searched his still face looking, searching for some kind of answer but none came.

Jane sulkily walked into the precinct cafe and was immediately bombarded by her Ma. The older woman wrapped her arms around the detective and squeezed her tightly. "Ugh! Ma!" Jane pulled a face as her Ma looked at her with compassion glowing in her eyes. Jane gestured to the coffee pot as she felt a lump growing in her throat. _Do not cry Rizzoli!_

Maura turned into the cafe and span on her heels as soon as she saw the dark unruly curls in front of her, she sped as quickly as she could toward the elevator pretending she couldn't hear Angela calling her name. She stood tall waiting for the lift praying she wouldn't hear those all too familiar footsteps behind her. As she stepped into the elevator and the doors closed she sighed in relief and her body sagged with the heavy emotions she was carrying.

Jane knew exactly who had walked in and straight back out of the cafe, she didn't even need to see the hope on her Ma's face followed by the sadness, she knew by the light clicking of heels. The tumultuous emotions inside her were battling with one another; she wanted to be mad at her, knowing full well she did what was right. There was the sadness that Maura couldn't stand to be in the same room, she would prefer her to scream and shout instead of the avoidance and silence. She hated that she was the cause of Maura's sadness and distress. She dearly missed her best friend but she was damned if she was going chasing after her - they had both done wrong.

Whenever Maura wore her black scrubs she felt a sense of calm fall over her, this was her job, what she was good at and it helped her to focus on the task in hand rather than what was plaguing her brain. She set out all her autopsy instruments neatly and took a deep breath. Some medical examiners liked to listen to music during their work but she had never felt the urge to. She usually had Jane down here pestering her to guess the COD before she had even begun, she smiled fondly at the thought and sighed sadly, she wouldn't have that today. She almost wanted to call Jane down but knew they would just end up in another argument. She clicked on the radio and began bobbing her head to the music, appreciating the ebb and flow of the composition. It wasn't until a minute or two into the song she realised it was Yo Yo Ma. The memory of Jane's teasing was too much for her so she turned it off sadly.

Jane was pacing around the bull pen like a caged animal, she wasn't used to being idle whilst waiting for the lab results and autopsy, she was usually down there hounding Maura for answers. Frost was tracing records of the victim's nearest and dearest and Korsak was out interviewing potential witnesses. Jane chewed on her thumb as she paced back and forth. She kept checking her phone and refreshing her emails hoping and praying there would be something to keep her mind occupied. As she checked her phone she brought up the photo she took of the unusual ugly flower. _Why leave that under the body?_

Maura held the scalpel as if it was an extension of her own body, she felt complete and her mind cleared. She angled the scalpel down and pressed into the flesh just about to begin the Y incision when she was startled as the doors to the morgue flew open and banged against the wall. She nicked her finger with the sharp scalpel and blood oozed underneath the torn surgical glove. She hissed and rushed over to the sink being careful not to contaminate the body.

Jane sat at her desk staring at the blank Google screen in front of her. _Titan...titan arm..._ with a frustrated growl she threw her arms up in the air. _Why didn't you listen to her?!_ She ran her hands over her face. _Because I was worried about her, she was sick. Maura is never sick._ She felt the worry sitting heavy in her stomach. She stood up hurriedly, grabbed her phone and walked determinedly to the elevator. It wasn't until the doors opened downstairs that the nerves fluttered around the detective's body. She took a shaky deep breath and gave a small firm nod. _You have every right to be there. You need to solve this case, no time to waste._ She burst into the morgue with more vigour that she intended and slammed the doors open. She winced as Maura rushed over to the sink cradling her hand.

Despite missing the footsteps out of the elevator Maura did not fail to recognise them walking up behind her. The familiar scent of her best friend felt warm and comforting as it surrounded her and she glowed in spite of herself as Jane took her injured hand in her own scarred palm.

"Shit, Maur I'm sorry."

Maura heard the emotion in the husky voice and it had an immediate effect on her, tears formed, a lump in her throat grew and her chin wobbled dangerously. She admonished herself silently and removed her hand from Jane's, heading to the first aid box to find suitable covering for her wound.

As Maura snatched her hand back Jane cursed inwardly. _Nice one Rizzoli, you've managed to piss her off even more!_ She watched in silence as Maura bound her small wound and snapped on another glove. Jane could read the silence and tension all too well. _She didn't even tell me off for cursing._ Maura walked back to the body and Jane sighed. _Down to business. _She went and stood in her usual position across from Maura and focused her attention at the body, not daring to look at her best friend.

Maura continued with the autopsy in silence, much to her surprise Jane didn't interrupt or speak once. Maura felt guilt nagging at her, after all Jane was only being caring and kind, she reacted badly to it. She felt awful but not hearing the footsteps as usual had just highlighted just how unlike herself she was feeling.

Maura was rifling through the victim's stomach contents and Jane couldn't help but smile a little as she remembered Maura revealing to her that it was her favourite part of the autopsy. She peered over a little more to see what the ME had found.

Maura sensed the shift in Jane's posture and quickly glanced up, Jane was leaning so far over the body her unruly dark hair was about to dip into the cavity. Maura suppressed a small giggle and that caught Jane's attention. The chocolate eyes frowned at the sudden change in mood and Maura simply gestured with her eyes and Jane looked down.

Jane jumped back and gave a little shudder; her hair had almost been touching the gross stuff inside the dead guy. It was worth it, however, when she looked up and saw the small smile on Maura's face and she beamed back.

Maura held up something she had found in the stomach and Jane moved around to stand next to her. Maura stiffened as Jane's hand found her lower back as it so often did. Jane must have felt her posture change and quickly removed the hand with an apologetic look. Maura was torn, things were beginning to feel normal again but she just couldn't forgive Jane for what she had done, not yet, not while Paddy was still in such a critical condition. She focused her attentions on the fragment held in her tweezers and turned to Jane.

Jane frowned at the unrecognisable morsel held between Maura's tweezers "What?" she shrugged at the medical examiner who put it down and began gently tearing the item apart.

"Sausage!"

Maura sounded so excited by the prospect of finding a small piece of sausage that Jane let out a chuckle. Maura met her gaze with a disapproving look that Jane simply grinned at. _This is more like it._

"If it is an unusual composition we may be able to trace the source."

"And if not, we know he liked sausages!"

Maura shook her head at Jane's standard sarcastic retort to her findings. She returned to the rest of the stomach and held it up to her face and took a large inhale of the scent. She frowned and held it up to Jane's nose. The detective took a begrudging sniff and frowned at her.

"What is that? Bread?"

Maura shook her head and inhaled again, she could see why Jane identified it as bread, there was a yeasty quality to it, but it was more of a bitter smell than bread. Maura looked at the detective with narrowed eyes as a thought occurred to her. "What is that dark beer you insisted everybody drink last March?" Jane stared at her blankly. "The one Detective Frost vomited back up in a black sticky mess and Sergeant Korsak refused to take off that ridiculous oversized hat?"

Jane laughed as the memory rushed back to her and then frowned as she realised what the scent from the stomach contents was, she smelled it again and clapped at the ME "Guinness!"

Maura smiled as they deduced the heady aroma and nodded happily. The morgue doors opened again and Maura looked up smiling "Ah Senior Criminologist Chang, I'd like a full tox screen, we have reason to believe he may have been drinking quite heavily." Susie nodded and left again.

Jane turned to Maura who was carefully removing the glove from her injured hand "Hey, you know any more about this yet?" she held up her phone showing the photo of the odd plant.

Maura dropped her glove as she frowned at the photo and felt that same dread lying heavy in her stomach, she shook her head "Not yet, I will do some research now I have completed the autopsy, it is very rare though, I do not think you will have trouble tracking where it came from." The ME bent down to retrieve the glove when her head swooned and she stumbled.

Jane managed to catch Maura before she fell over again and helped her into a chair. She lifted the ME's chin and frowned as she had paled dramatically again "Maybe you should go home Maur, you don't look so hot."

Maura attempted a weak smile "Why thank you (!) Where's Giovanni when you need him?"

Jane laughed loudly "Was that a joke?"

Maura laughed with her and felt the uneasiness float away as their teasing banter began again. Her phone began to ring and Jane raced to retrieve it so as Maura didn't have to move again. Maura smiled gratefully as she answered the phone "Doctor Isles."

Jane felt happiness began to flow around her body again; _Maybe we're not totally broken._ Her cheerfulness began to wane however as she watched the medical examiner's face drop and she paled again.

Maura jumped out of her seat as she hung up the phone and raced out of the morgue into her office. She heard the familiar footsteps keeping up with her, she snatched up her belongings and turned to flee her office when she collided with Jane in her doorway.

"Whoa! Where's the fire Maur?" Jane gasped as Maura's eyes were fiery again and all the humour had gone from her face.

"Get out of my way." Maura's voice was humourless and she huffed as Jane stood her ground.

"Not until you tell me what's going on Maur."

"My father has been rushed into surgery again."

Maura forcefully pushed past Jane and rushed to the elevator. Jane watched her go and felt her stomach sink and nausea rose. Guilt consumed her as she thought about the possible consequences and all she could think of was that phrasing; _My father._ Jane ran her hands through her hair as she sighed heavily. _My father._


	4. Chapter 4

_**thanks for the support glad you guys are hooked and ready for the long ride :) criticism is always welcomed guys.**_

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Maura raced into the hospital and piled into someone's back, she hurriedly apologised and went to run off when her eyes widened in shock at the recognition of the figure she had smacked into. "You." It was more an accusation than an observation. The man hung his head and it sparked a furious inferno inside her. "No. Don't you dare! You don't have the right to feel sorry for yourself!" her tone was vicious and dangerous. "Why are you even here? Waiting for him to die?" the accusation was spat at him with as much venom as she could muster.

Jane sprinted into the hospital and skidded to a halt as she took in the sight in front of her. She felt her limbs seize up and she froze even though her mind was screaming at her to turn and run away. She closed her eyes sadly as Maura slowly turned to see her standing there.

"Well!"

Jane had never heard the medical examiner speak with such poison and ice in her voice and it cut straight into her heart.

"Nice to see you keep your boyfriend up to date!" Maura had never felt more out of control in her life, her whole body was fuelled by rage and she was shaking from it. She wanted to scream and shout and hit them both.

"Maur I-"

Maura held up her hand and Jane stopped abruptly. Maura opened her mouth to retort but instead simply shot Jane a incensed look of disgust, span on her heels and stalked away as fast as her angry trembling legs could carry her.

Jane started to chase after her but he held her back. She snapped her glare to him and sneered "Don't touch me!" she practically screamed in Dean's face and he removed his hands with a sad look. She shook her head angrily at him "Why the fuck are you here?"

"I need to know what's going to happen to Doyle."

She looked him up and down in disgust "He could die. He could die..." the second time she repeated it, it began to sink in "He could die...I could have killed my best friend's father..."

"Paddy Doyle is a criminal."

She shot him a filthy look "Maybe, but he's still the only link Maura has back to her biological family and I may have just killed the only person who knows who her mother is."

"You did what you had to do Jane."

She laughed bitterly at him "No. I did what I had to do because you fucked everything up!"

"I'm a federal agent-"

She clapped her hands together "And there we have it! The standard excuse to get yourself out of shit! You had no right to be there!"

"Jane I-"

"No! I told you in confidence Dean! And you betrayed me!" She gave him one last icy cold look and ran up the corridor after Maura. Jane bounded after the ME before she was stopped by a hospital worker, she was on the verge of hysterics begging to be let through to talk to Maura but because she wasn't medical staff she was turned away.

Maura could hear some kind of commotion outside, she could hear Jane's exasperated voice yelling to be let through as she was with Boston Homicide. Maura shook her head and tried to block it all out, she had to think of Paddy Doyle and nothing else. She had been caught up on the situation, something had ruptured and he was suffering from another internal bleed, they were in surgery at the moment trying to stop the flow.

It felt like Jane had sat in that corridor forever, nurses and doctors ran back and forth frantically and Jane interchanged between chewing on her thumb and rubbing the scars on the palms that were increasingly sore. Her phone went off and she sighed as she saw Frost's name calling, she answered it despondently "Frost, what you got?" she sat up as he relayed the information that the tox screen and lab results had come back and that Susie was looking for her. Jane hung up and put her phone away nervously glancing at the doors she was banned from. _She won't want you here._ That thought made her heart sink. _But I need her to know that I'm here...even when she hates me._

They eventually managed to stem the flow of blood and his vitals had stabilised. Maura let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She walked alongside the gurney as Paddy was transferred back to the intensive care unit. She sat in the chair she had occupied previously and frowned, she had sat on something. She got up and picked up the offending item and played with it in her hands. She held a packet of fudge clusters with a hurried note in the scrawled penmanship of Jane Rizzoli, the note read: _Even though I hate it when you hate me I know you have to right now, just know I'm here anyway. _Maura felt her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at the words.

Jane raced as fast as she could back to the precinct and flew down the stairs where she almost collided with Susie. "What you got?"

Susie was slightly taken aback by the flushed breathless detective "Are you ok detective?" Jane simply nodded hurriedly and gestured for her to continue. Susie opened the manila folder she held "The victim had an alcohol level of 0.17%"

Jane frowned at her "Whoa...surprised the guy had any food left in his stomach if he was that hammered."

Susie looked at her grimly "That's something else detective, the remains of food that Doctor Isles found? They weren't digested."

Jane looked at her with confusion "You mean he swallowed a whole sausage?"

"It could be that he died before his body had time to digest the food fully, we need to examine it further."

Jane huffed impatiently "Ok?" Susie still had that look on her face that something was bothering her. "What is it Susie?"

"I don't know if I should say...Doctor Isles has still got to complete the autopsy."

Jane folded her arms and looked at the shorter woman sternly "If you know something to help me solve the case Susie I need to know now."

Susie sighed and nodded "The victim had recently ingested marijuana...a lot of marijuana, and we found evidence of vomit on his clothing."

Jane shrugged "So he was high and drunk and was sick...and then ate sausages...so?!"

Susie chewed on her bottom lip "The Bunga Bankai, the corpse flower, it only blooms for three days a year."

Jane was about to lose patience and she snapped "So? What the fuck does all this have to do with each other?!"

"Paddy Doyle."

Jane's whole body stiffened at the sound of the voice and she span to face Dean "Get out."


	5. Chapter 5

**_sorry guys this chapter isnt as long as th others have been but i think you'll understand why it had to end when it has (ull hate me, but hopefully ull understand!)_**

**____****if you like my stuff find me on fb, twitter, tumblr and my blog which you can find at my username dot com**

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**_there may be a delay for the next update; im working a lot this coming weekend and don't know if i'll manage to get enough done to update everyday but if i can't i promise a longer chapter when i can xx_**

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Maura was surrounded by darkness. It was thick and suffocating. It kept encroaching on her space and she tried to call out. Her throat was hot and tight. Tendrils of black swirled around her, creeping across her skin and worming their way inside her eyes, her nose, her throat, she was choking on the dense impenetrable blackness. She felt her insides clogging and becoming heavy with darkness, she felt as if her body were giving up; her limbs felt heavy and unresponsive. She feebly reached out to her sides and hit resistance. She tried to stretch out and the same thing happened. As she felt around her she could feel the rough texture beneath her fingertips. _Wood._ It seemed to be getting impossibly darker and panic began to set in, she began screaming and shouting, kicking and hitting the wood to no avail. Sweat began pouring from her skin and her breathing was close to hyperventilation, she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself but closing her eyes just made everything darker. She called out again but closed her mouth abruptly as she roughly calculated how long it would be until she would be running out of oxygen; she didn't have long.

Dean hadn't moved a muscle and Jane wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face but she was aware of Susie standing behind her. "I said get out." Dean didn't say a word and still didn't move, Jane could feel the red mist beginning to descend, she was about to snap when Frost appeared out of the elevator.

Frost surveyed the scene warily, Susie looked petrified, Agent Dean looked the way he always did; Frost found it hard to read him and Jane, well Frost had known Jane long enough to know that when her jaw was clenched tight and her nostrils were flaring you wanted to get out of the firing line. It looked as if she was in a standoff with Dean and as much as Frost didn't want to interrupt, she needed this vital information. "Uh Jane?"

"Yeah."

It was a short and sharp, no messing around reply and she hadn't taken her eyes off Dean as she addressed him. Frost gulped, _This isn't gonna be pretty._ "The vic was, um, a possible associate of...um..."

"Spit it out Frost!" she wasn't in the mood to pussy foot around stuff, she wanted to deal with Dean.

"Paddy Doyle."

Jane felt as if she was reeling, her head went suddenly light and she had Frost's voice echoing around her head. _Paddy Doyle...so it really is all to do with Doyle? ...Maura!_

"He was Jane."

Jane's focus snapped back to Dean as he spoke, she snarled at him "Actually **_Agent _**Dean it's Detective Rizzoli." She gave him her best death stare at they remained at loggerheads with one another.

Frost winced at Jane's cold tone and wondered whether he should leave when the elevator doors opened and Korsak bumbled into his back.

"Uff!" Korsak took in the scene and winced in anticipation; Jane was in battle mode.

"Korsak! You remember Agent Dean from the FBI? He's just swooped in with some important information, information he's probably known for some time but decided not to share until us bumbling cops caught up with him. And now he's here to gloat!" she flicked her stare back at Dean "What is it hmm? Do you just love watching us scurry around like ants while you sit like a kid with a magnifying glass picking us off one by one?"

Dean sighed "Look if this is about what happened to Doyle-"

Jane cut him off angrily "You really have no idea do you?!" she looked at him in disgust.

"Jane?" Korsak spoke softly.

"What?!" she snapped at the older man before taking a deep breath and remembering he wasn't the one she was mad at. "What?" she asked softly.

Korsak swallowed hard "There's another body. Similar location. Reports say there's an unpleasant smell."

Jane nodded gravely and set her jaw, she looked back at Dean and sneered at him "Don't follow me. We all know how that ends."

It was suffocating in more ways than one; the intense heat that burned inside her body fighting its last battle fought with the icy chills than ran over her skin as fear dug its claws in. Maura felt like she was becoming part of the darkness she felt it seeping into her vital organs, her lungs tightened and felt like a vice, her heart was pounding to give her life but the blackness smothered its beats and held it until it weakened, she could taste the deathly intent around her as her body began to shut down. Maura knew these were her last few breaths and she tried to savour them. As she slowly inhaled images of loved ones flashed before her eyes; Constance and her father, to whom she had only very recently felt a connection now they had had a serious talk, Paddy's face appeared making her feel a strange mixture of confusion, love, sadness and anger, Angela Rizzoli who had been a mother to her whom she cared for deeply, Korsak and Frost who had always been friends to her even though they didn't understand her quirky ways, Ian even though he hurt her she couldn't help but care for her first real love, and finally there was Jane. Someone so polar opposite to herself it was odd to think just how close they had become. She smiled as she recollected their first meeting; Jane was undercover as a prostitute and Maura had offered to buy her coffee. A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek as the detective's face refused to budge from her eyes. _Jane._ Never before had Maura had a friend like her, she had never had a friend she cared so much for...and now she had ruined it. She pushed Jane away when she was hurting even as Jane had tried to make it better. _I wish you could hear me Jane...I wish-_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Not 100% happy with this chapter but I wanted to try and give u guys an update, again may b a delay for the next one depending on how mental work is due to the Holiday!**_

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As all hope was fading and Maura had resigned herself to the inevitable gloomy depths of death a noise began to ring out. Far away and indeterminable at first but its insistence brought Maura back from the clutches of the darkness. She frowned at the unrelenting noise as it sounded as if it were coming closer and closer to her. It wasn't until it was ringing in her ears that the recognition clicked in. My phone! Hope sprang alive in her heart and the darkness lost its hold. She opened her eyes and was blinded by light.

Jane braced herself as she took hold of the door handle. She had been warned that the smell at this crime scene was even worse than the last, if that was even possible. Jane set her jaw and swung open the door into the large warehouse. The smell nearly floored her and her eyes immediately watered. She began walking over to the body hanging from the rafters when she spotted something behind the body. She walked around the hung corpse and gasped at the wall behind.

Once the initial glare of the light had subsided Maura looked around in shock. She looked at the grim face staring at her and she swallowed nervously. "Wha-" her throat burned and she couldn't ask what she wanted. The blaring noise was still insisting to be heard and she looked down at her phone ringing and picked it up still in a state of shock "D-Doctor Isles." Her voice was barely audible.

Jane snapped a photo of both the body and the wall before frowning as she noted there was no flower. She began hunting using the smell as her guide, it lead her to the body and nowhere else. She would have to wait for the medical examiner to cut the body down. She closed her eyes and prayed it wasn't Dr Pike, the man was insufferable. Her prayers were answered as she heard the familiar click of heels approaching her back. Her eyes flew open and she turned to face Maura with concern. "Why are you here?"

Still unsettled by her disturbing nightmare that she had to explain to the poor worried nurse tending to Paddy Doyle, Maura retorted sarcastically "I am in fact the chief medical examiner for the state of Massachusetts, and as such my job is to examine bodies and crime scenes such as this." Jane was still looking at her with such compassion that it almost broke the ME's professional resolve. She stalked away from Jane and stood underneath the body. "Victim, heavy set Caucasian male." She turned to the green faced team who had followed her in, she gestured at the body "Let's get him down please."

Jane looked at Maura with unease, she looked as deathly pale as she had at the last crime scene, she didn't want her friend to exert herself, especially if this whole thing was something to do with Paddy Doyle. "You don't look so good." It was lame but it was the only thought Jane had in her head.

"Why thank you detective, it's always nice to be complimented." On the outside Maura was cool and collected but on the inside she was very much still shaken up by that all too real dream. She tried to push it out of her mind and concentrate on the body being lowered. "The smell seems to be emanating from the corpse this time." As the body was laid flat on the floor Maura was left with an un-obscured view of the wall behind. She gasped at the sight.

"How is he?"

Maura was stunned; not only by Jane's question, which came at the wrong time but also by the scrawl across the large warehouse wall.

"Maur?" Jane took a tentative step closer to the ME who appeared to be hypnotised by the writing on the wall. "Pretty creepy huh?" Maura was still staring unblinking at it. "Wanna bet it's blood?" Jane's attempt to be jovial fell on deaf ears as Maura simply nodded. Jane stared at her friend as if she were a stranger; _Maura doesn't guess. Maura doesn't bet. Maura won't commit to anything other than a red brown stain. What's happened? Is it Doyle? Is he-?_ Jane's thought trailed off as she couldn't bring herself to think of the consequences if he had...

Maura felt sick and dizzy as she stared at the words; _**Do you remember? **_Something about the message didn't sit well with her and she could feel that same blackness from her nightmare creeping up around her, trying to reclaim her. After what felt like a century she managed to tear her eyes away from the words and knelt down by the body. She frowned at the victim's throat; it was much larger than it should have been. "There appears to be something lodged in his throat."

Jane watched her friend as she stared at the bloody message, she didn't think Maura could get any paler but the more she looked at the words the paler she got. Jane moved closer at one point; completely convinced that Maura was going to black out again. When the medical examiner suddenly switched to the body confirmed Jane's worries. The detective watched as Maura extended the head back to gain access to the throat.

Maura watched her tweezers disappear and she felt around the area until they hit something solid. She positioned her tweezers around it and heard a metallic clink as they collided. She slowly and carefully extracted the object as Jane knelt next to her. They both frowned at the object for a moment until Maura gasped in realisation.

Jane heard Maura gasp and looked at her, she had begun to tremble again, her hand so unsteady that she nearly dropped the object. Jane grabbed her hand and took the tweezers off her; not wanting to contaminate the evidence. As she did so Maura's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.

The blackness had returned, stronger than before and it dragged Maura down to the abyss, she was powerless to resist. She could hear Jane's voice calling out to her but she was fading fast and couldn't answer her. Just as she had succumbed to her fate she felt strong hands grasp her and pull her back to the light. She blinked her eyes open and stared straight into the chocolate eyes of Jane Rizzoli. Maura began crying and couldn't stop herself.

Jane gathered her friend in her arms as soon as she could pass the evidence to a crime scene technician, she sighed in relief as soon as Maura opened her eyes but her relief faded fast as the ME began sobbing in her arms. "Maur? Maur what's wrong?" Maura simply shook her head rapidly and buried herself tighter into Jane's arms. Jane felt her heart break; _how can I help when she won't tell me what's wrong?_ "I'm here Maur. I'm here." She held onto her tighter and let her cry.

"I-I-Ice pick."

The voice was so small and feeble and so unlike Maura that Jane nearly missed it "What? Ice pick?" Maura nodded and Jane suddenly put the pieces together. "He had the end of an ice pick in his throat?" Jane's whole body grew cold as she realised that Frost and Dean were right. This all points to Doyle. She frowned as she shook her head. She sighed heavily and lifted Maura's chin "Gonna take you home ok?" Maura shook her head and Jane gave her a stern look "You're not ok Maur, you need some rest."

Jane passed over to Frost and told him to get another ME in to do the autopsy but not to start without her, she'd be back soon. She raced Maura back to her house, tucked her up in her luxurious bed and sat with her until she fell asleep. She called her Ma and asked her to come home early and look after the medical examiner. As Angela came to take over she gave her an affectionate squeeze. Jane glanced once more at the sleeping form of her best friend; she looked peaceful for the first time in days. Jane nodded determinedly _I'm gonna fix this Maur. I swear._


	7. Chapter 7

As Jane walked through the doors to the morgue she was focusing on her phone; texting her Ma to check on Maura's status.

"Ah Detective Rizzoli, glad you could join us."

Jane internally rolled her eyes but forced a smile on her face "Doctor Pike! I didn't realise you had been called in!"

"Yes, hardly surprising as Doctor Isles failed to perform her duty, as per usual."

Jane fought back the punch that she was itching to throw. "So what can you tell me?"

"Well in my vast number of years experience I have discovered that when you are dealing with work such as this; vital and often stressful on the mind, it is apparent that men can deal with these types of pressures more than the weaker female." He paused to smile at Jane "Apart from less feminine types like yourself detective."

Jane fought between punching his lights out and throwing up on his shoes, she eventually managed to swallow her urges and smiled as sweetly as she could manage. "About the victim."

"Right, yes well the victim died from asphyxiation-"

"From hanging?"

Dr Pike huffed impatiently at the brunette "I see where Doctor Isles gets her love of guess work from!"

Jane bit back the ready retort about Maura never guessing anything and simply gestured for him to continue, _Now is not the time to piss him off, we need this info._

"He was asphyxiated before being strung up. The object lodged down his throat appears to have been put there post mortem, along with these." He reached to one side nod held up a Petri dish full of crushed fuchsia/purple petals."

Jane took it and examined it carefully "The same plant..."

"Yes, the Amorphophallus titanum. Usually located in Indonesia. The locals often refer to it as the cor-"

"Corpse flower." Dr Pike frowned in irritation at her. "Maura told me."

His irritation peaked at the mention of the other ME. "Well was Doctor Isles able to date the plant?" He smiled at Jane's silence "No, I didn't think so! This particular specimen is 2 days old."

He carried on blabbering about how superior he was and how he had figured it out but Jane was no longer listening, she had the memory of what Susie had said circling her mind; _The Bunga Bangkai, the corpse flower, it only blooms for three days a year._ She turned to Pike "Were did it come from?"

"Well as I previously mentioned it originates from Indonesia, it is highly uncommon to find one here." Jane huffed at him "But if I am correct there was an exotic plant exhibition at the Boston Flower and Garden Show recently."

"By the docks in South Boston?" He nodded. Her mind began to race as she got out her phone and dialled "Frost? The docks near the world trade centre...by the flower and garden show...I don't know exactly...okay." She smiled as she hung up from her partner, not many people would follow her hunches but he always trusted her. She turned back to Pike "What else can you tell me?"

Frost pulled up alongside the docks and frowned. He had called the people in charge of the flower and garden show, they had no trouble during the show, no thefts or anything. He was stumped as to what to do but he began to try and fit the jigsaw clues together in his mind. _A specimen of this unique plant was located around here, the first victim was a suspected associate of Doyle's..._ He started to wander toward the old fish docks when a thought stopped him in his tracks. _Guinness and sausages..._he quickly got out his phone and searched for the nearest Irish pub; M. J. O'Connor's. he began making his way there.

Pike went about his slow winded way of telling Jane all other important (and some not so important) details for the case, she headed up to the bull pen to thrash some ideas about. Everything pointed to Doyle but how did it all connect? Looking at what they had do far Doyle would be prime suspect for all the facts but he was in critical condition. _Has Doyle passed the torch? Who was the message for? Remember what? Remember who?_ Jane was chewing her bottom lip in thought when Korsak pulled up an image and displayed it on the big screen. Jane frowned "Who is that?"

Walking into the traditional Irish pub Frost felt the air around him turn chilly and tense, though you couldn't see any eyes focused on him he was definitely being watched, her could feel it prickling the back of his neck. He wandered to the bar where the silver haired bartender pretended not to see him, he picked up a menu and a dish caught his eye. "Galtee sausages and colcannon with Guinness onion gravy." Frost ordered to no one in particular. Suddenly a chill ran down his spine as he felt someone stood incredibly close behind him.

"Hear that boys? The pig wants pig for dinner." The gruff voice tutted "A man what eats his own species? Ain't welcome here."

Frost considered his actions and possibilities but decided it was better to be safe than sorry, the last thing he wanted was to spook whoever was behind this. "My mistake." He said quietly and shuffled his way out of the door.

"James Joseph Bulger Jnr." Korsak's voice snapped Jane out of her daze looking at the man in the mug shot.

Jane turned and frowned at him "Bulger? Name rings a bell..."

"Boston Irish mobster, pretty much ran Boston back in the day, caught just a couple of months ago in California."

"Right, right yeah I remember that! Why didn't I get that straight away?"

"You probably know him by his nickname." Jane frowned and waited for Korsak to continue. "Whitey Bulger."

Jane stared at him "Whitey?" Korsak nodded and she rushed over to him and shoved him off his keyboard. "Korsak do you know what the English slang 'whitey' means?" Korsak shook his head. Jane brought it up on his computer screen and smiled grimly.

"An undesirable reaction to smoking cannabis. Symptoms include dizzyness, clammy skin, nausea and vomiting. It gets its name from the paleness of the sufferer as the blood drains out the capillaries under the skin due to a decrease in blood pressure. Often associated with first time tokers or when mixed with alcohol." Korsak read off the screen. They both exchanged a look as Jane got out her phone.

"Hey Jane!" Frost answered the phone excitedly "Listen I have a hunch as to where our first victim may have eaten lunch, if you're right and it all connects down here!...What? Yeah I'm still here...What? Why?" The heavy blow to the back of Frost's head answered his questions as to why Jane told him to get out of there.

Jane held the phone close to her ear yelling out Frost's name as Korsak jumped up, grabbing his gun and badge.

"Detective." The voice was unrecognisable and dangerous. Jane froze and gestured for Korsak to come and listen, they both crowded around her phone.

"Yeah. Who's this?"

The strange voice tutted "Some Detective...I left you plenty of clues to follow, guess I'm gonna have to speed up our little game a little more than I had originally wanted."

"I know you want us to remember Whitey Bulger. You got my attention now, tell me where to meet and you can tell me what you want."

The voice simply laughed at her down the phone. "What makes you think I'm doing all of this for you Detective?"

The line went dead and Korsak and Jane exchanged a worried look.

Angela was dozing off on the couch downstairs at Maura's when she heard a bloodcurdling scream. She leapt off the couch and her heart was hammering in her chest so hard it almost hurt. Angela raced into the kitchen and picked up the largest knife she could find, she crept up the stairs whilst typing in Janie's number as fast as she could. Angela made it to just outside Maura's bedroom where she could hear strangled sobs and cries, Janie's phone cut to voicemail and Angela left a message with a shaky voice as she approached the door. As she reached for the door handle it began to open and Angela dropped the phone.

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_**dun dun dun! ha! sorry i do love my cliffhangers a little too much but I need to plan out exactly what happens next, i feel this chapter was a bit mismash and confused so i want the next to be clearer. x sorry for the delay **_

_**also im not from Boston, never been so all my research is internet based so if its all wrong im sorry!**_

_**check out rizzles fanfic awards and nominate pleeeeaaaassssee ? ;)**_

_**follow me on twitter, find me on fb, tumblr, my blog etc - j. d. roxburgh**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Because things are getting a little complex with all things happening in different places so I've used line breaks to try and make it a little clearer but I worry it makes it too choppy to follow...thoughts?**_

_**i wrote this on the train so it's prob full of mistakes iv missed sorry feel free to pm me any glaringly obvious things! Sorry I know no one likes cliffhangers but there's another one coz I didn't have time to carry on sorry x**_

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As Jane was racing to her unmarked to save Frost, with Korsak puffing behind her, she heard her phone ringing incessantly to the tune of the twilight zone, she automatically ignored it; that being her usual reaction when her Ma was calling, until she slammed the door to her unmarked shut and gasped in horror; _Maura_. She frantically typed in her phone and rang her Ma back but could get no answer. As Korsak finally made his way onto her car she screamed at him to get out, much to his confusion.

"What?" The older man puffed.

"Something's wrong with Maura I need to go, you go take care of Frost!" Jane slammed the door shut in Korsak's face, turned on her sirens and tore away with a squeal of her tires.

Korsak watched Jane's car peal away with a piercing siren and shook his head sadly,_ What the hell is going on?_

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The smell hit Frost before he opened his eyes, he felt his stomach roll and he retched until his eyes were streaming and his stomach and ribs ached with the effort. He heard a snigger and he rolled over on the floor to see a figure standing looking admiringly at a huge plant sprouting a giant purple flower out of the top of it.

"Quite something isn't she?" The voice was swimming in pride and satisfaction.

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Jane nearly crashed into Maura's house she drove up at such speed. She leapt out of the car almost before it had stopped moving and slammed her way into the house only briefly pausing the draw her gun. She swept the rooms with efficiency and got to outside Maura's bedroom door where she saw her Ma's phone smashed into bits. It was only then that her emotions began to get the better of her.

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Korsak pulled up alongside Frost's car and surveyed the area. _Jane said he mentioned an Irish pub..._ As that thought crossed his mind Korsak saw a couple of guys wandering from the docks exclaiming how they needed a beer. Korsak took a punt and concealed his weapon and badge before following at a slow pace behind them.

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"Wh-" Frost had too many questions swamping his mind but his head was fuzzy and he couldn't articulate what he wanted.

"Your partner couldn't leave well enough alone could she? Meddling little bitch!" Frost tried to move but felt pain slice through his head again. "The trail of breadcrumbs wasn't for her, she is nothing to me."

Frost frowned "Doc...?"

"Don't!" The shout echoed around Frost's head painfully. He grimaced as he was picked up roughly by his collar to meet those dark menacing eyes. "She doesn't deserve to be called that. Doctors save lives." Frost gulped as he saw the shadow consume the face in front of him. "She doesn't deserve to live. She must taste death, she will never understand otherwise."

"Wh-"

A short slap to Frost's face cut him off. "You need to learn who's in charge here. Perhaps I'll make an example of you...yes, she needs to suffer as much as possible before the end." The twisted smile that warped the face sent chills down Frost's spine. "She shouldn't be too much longer." Frost was dropped heavily to the ground in a heap. He watched in despair as the figure extracted a petal from the grotesque flower and began to grind it up in a mortar and pestle.

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Korsak watched the men vanish inside the traditional Irish pub and considered what plan of action to take. He spotted a tramp across the alley and traded him his suit jacket for his smelly shirt. It pained Korsak to put it on but he needed to look as inconspicuous as possible...though stinking to high heaven he wasn't quite sure how inconspicuous he would actually be. ITALICS _Here goes nothing. _He took a deep breath and entered the pub.

"What can I get ya?"

"Guinness." Korsak winced as the bartender nodded and walked off to the other end of the bar to fulfil the order. The last time he had drank Guinness was last St Paddy's day in the Dirty Robber with Jane, Frost and Maura. He smiled at the memory of that night, Frost threw up everywhere and it was black due to the amount of Guinness he had had. His smile faded as thoughts of the Jane's new partner entered his mind._ He's a pain in the ass but I hope he's ok_.

"Y'all right there mate? Look like you've seen a ghost."

The thick Irish American accent snapped Korsak back into the present. He nodded "I might have..." There was a mutual silence between the two men as the bartender handed over the black pint with the frothy top. Korsak took a sip and smiled. "Good stuff, not had it in a while."

"Well now that's a crying shame! Why ever not?"

Korsak's face grew grim "Reminds me of a friend."

"That's the whole point mate, drink to your comrades." There was a small hum of agreement that echoed around the dank pub, men with greying hair lifted their identical pints in celebration.

"Haven't seen you in here before?" A new voice, more threatening than the bartender, joined Korsak at the bar.

"No. I've been away."

"Oh?" It sounded more like an accusation than genuine question.

"You get bagged?"

Korsak nodded and that was the end of the conversation, the guy seemed satisfied he was decent enough. "You seen any other strangers round? Any bozos?" The air stilled inside the pub and tension mounted.

The man turned to eye him carefully "Why you askin'?"

Korsak swigged his drink slowly and shrugged "Been asked by a friend to keep an eye out is all."

"What friend?"

"Someone who's gonna be pissed if his town ain't the way he left it." Korsak didn't need to say any more the murmurs around the pub told him that he had planted the seed of doubt among them. _Time to go._ He slid off the stool and left a bill on the counter and left with a solemn nod. He hid down the alleyway and waited. _Hang in there Frost I'm coming_.

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"MA?! MAUR?!" Jane kicked in Maura's bedroom door and was greeted by an horrific sight.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Sorry this has taken a while and I'm sorry it's not a massive action chapter like the last but hopefully it will make sense later on.**_

_**i have had someone contact me to ask whether there will be any rizzles as I put it will be non rizzles as we start and it has been pointed out that it is (now) chapter 9. If you have read any of my other stuff (Taste especially) you should know that my stories can be ridiculously long so chapter 9 isn't necessarily the middle or the end, it's still the start, I haven't mapped it all out yet and it is a story of angst, depends on what happens I'm sorry I can't give a more definite answer I hope I don't lose you as a reader but I can't say more for now.**_

_**i will be updating as much as I can over the next few days to try and make up for the lack of updates recently xx**_

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The malevolent force was swirling inside Maura. It hadn't left her at all, it began swelling back up inside of her, it was trying to possess her wholly. She could see a light ahead of her and she struggled toward it. The blackness was tugging her backward trying to keep her from reaching the light. She drew closer to the light and every cell in her body wanted to burst through the light but fear held her heart in its icy grip. Her chest tightened in fear but the harder she breathed the more the darkness seeped into her. She could feel her resolve fading when she heard someone scream her name and it pushed her forward into the light.

Her retinas burned with the intense light blaring into them. She felt the sting of tears but none ever appeared, it was like she was too drained to give any more emotion. She sucked in the air around her as if it would help cleanse her insides from the inky substance that had remained inside her. Her chin wobbled as she remembered being inside that darkness and having it inside her; crawling its way through her body and consuming all her organs until she was left for dead. Never had she been so petrified in all her life and even though she was now in the light, she could still feel its stain on her soul, she didn't think she would ever feel clean again.

As her eyes fought to focus through the light to determine where she was or indeed what she was she felt an odd lightheaded sensation. Almost like she was floating. An odd calm fell over her as she considered that this was possibly the end. It didn't feel quite real, she didn't feel like a person anymore, more like an entity, even though she had a lot she wanted to live for her body had seemed to accept its fate.

She thought of Constance and her life so far, she considered herself to be happy but she never had the things others had. She had never really had any close friends, no one she ever fully trusted, she was often used for her intelligence or outcast for her oddness. Science was the only thing that ever made sense to her, it didn't make her happy as such, she knew that a concept of thought didn't possess the power to evoke an emotion but it did make her feel like she belonged, to science. She was a tool rather than a person, someone to discover and solve. She liked the idea of giving a voice, a reason, a purpose to those who had none. She was compassionate but in a distant way, caring but aloof. She had always thought that a natural trait she inherited off Constance. A brilliant woman with natural presence and a commanding attention yet somewhat shy and awkward when it came to affection as if it weren't natural.

There was a noise cutting through the glaring light but Maura could not focus on it, the light was too powerful, too commanding, too encompassing. Suddenly a face loomed in cutting through the piercing light and coming so close she could feel the foul breath on her face. Fear took hold of her and chills ran all over her frozen body. The face twisted into a cruel smile as the light faded behind the figure. Maura's eyes were wide with fear and her ever growing tears were blurring her vision making the visage grotesque and her heart pounded as the realisation set in that her nightmare may only just be beginning.

"Maura, do you know who I am?"

The foul breath washed over her again and her stomach rolled with nausea, she shook her head. The chuckle that was emitted rippled shivers down her spine as the gruesome sound matched the evil sparkle in the dark eyes boring into her soul.

"Of course not, the little princess wouldn't know me."

Maura frowned at the nickname that had never been associated to her, Constance was never one for pet names, as far back as she could remember Maura was the most personal name she was called, otherwise it was always Miss Isles. She felt a shooting pain in her head but as she reached up to cradle the pain she found her hands bound behind her back. Panic began to set in and she could feel faintness clawing its way toward her. That noise that had been niggling at the back of her mind began to grow louder and sounded like it echoed but still she couldn't focus on it, it was being drowned out by her fear and pushed down by the blackness.

"Ever heard the idiom revenge is a dish best served cold?" Maura nodded feeling ice slide down her spine with anxiety. The disgusting breath blew in her face again "You, my little princess, are the perfect recipe."

She felt the rough hands grab her by her slender shoulders and yank her off her feet, she screamed only to wince at the severe pain in her head. She was carried into a malodorous room, the stench smashed against her senses and she retched painfully.

"Quite powerful isn't she?"

She was let down heavily in front of a species of plant she had never seen before. It was looming over her smaller form and the smell was just as imposing.

"It comes from Indonesia, they call it the corpse flower because of the smell."

"What are you going to do with me?" The hideous smile returned as did the impending sense of dread.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Longer chap to apologise, will upload again tomo, hopefully an even longer one for u lovelies x :)**_

_**nominate me for rizzles fanfic awards...? Pretty please :) x**_

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Jane stared at the trashed and empty room as if she could concentrate hard enough and change the image before her eyes. Tears streamed down her face before she even fully comprehended what the scene meant._ Maura...Ma...oh my god..._ She tore the room apart looking for something, anything, to tell her what had happened to them when she couldn't find anything she screamed. It was a sound like nothing she had ever heard let alone emitted; it was heart breaking, gut wrenching, soul destroying and it felt like every single part of her screamed with her. She ripped through the house with her torrent of tears stinging her face, when she couldn't find anything she lost control, she swept everything off the kitchen counter into a smashed pile on the floor. Her rational mind was telling her to calm down, to call someone, to get the place investigated but she couldn't think straight, it just hurt so damned much. She let out her rage through a sound that could only be described as a roar and she ploughed her fist through Maura's kitchen wall. The immense pain took its time to register with the rest of her body but when it did it was excruciating...and still nothing compared to the agony she was feeling inside her. The two women whom she cared most about in the entire world were missing and she had never felt more helpless. Her Ma had always been there, always her rock and she loved her immensely. Their highs and lows were always epic but no matter what her Ma would be there, standing strong and was there for Jane despite everything, no matter what she was feeling her kids came first and it was an inner strength that Jane hoped she had inherited; she needed it right now. It wasn't the first time she had been faced with a situation like this; Maura in danger was something she hated but it was always something that she had overcome. Her love for Maura made her feel so powerful it was almost superhuman, when she had faced Hoyt the first time around, she had no one like Maura in her life, she had never connected with someone that wholly and as she lay with those scalpels driven through her hands pinning her in place, she hated to think of it, but she had given up. She had nothing left. Since she had met Maura she had grown stronger without realising it, when she faced him again she had the power inside of her to overcome him but when he held Maura's life in his cruel twisted hands it had empowered her more than anything else in the world, like an electric current through her body she had to save her, she just had to, there was no other option...and now? Now she had no idea where she was. What was happening. Who had her. Whether she was alive. Those thoughts left Jane feeling physically sick and like she wanted to give up and disappear, a life without Maura? Wasn't worth living...it was as she stood cradling her possible broken hand that it suddenly dawned on her just how much Maura truly meant to her. _I can't live without her...I...I love her... _A sudden loud noise jolted her out of her shocked state and she grabbed her phone in desperation "Whatever you want. Just let them go."

The figure on the end of the phone managed a dry painful laugh at the deja vu before collapsing.

Jane stared at the phone as the person hung up on her. Her arm tensed as she prepared to propel the phone against the already damaged wall when she jumped at the sound of her phone ringing again "Let. Them. Go." Every word was carefully spoken and laced with a dangerous threat.

"Jane?"

The voice was not what she was expecting and she frowned as she took the phone away from her ear and checked the caller ID. "What the fuck do you want? You know what don't answer that! I don't want to hear from you, I have more impor-"

Dean interrupted her before she could finish her angry tirade "Jane it's Doyle. He's awake...and asking for you."

Jane nearly dropped the phone as the words sank in, she didn't say a word as she hung up and raced out of the house and leaped into her unmarked, flicked on the sirens and tore to the hospital as fast as humanly possible. She had a couple of hair raising moments racing across Boston streets but she barely let it sink in, all she could concentrate on, all she could see was Maura.

As Dean stood outside Paddy Doyle's room he could hear the commotion going on inside; when Doyle had woken up he had detached himself from all the machines and dragged himself to the phone, the nurses had found him doubled over and struggling to breathe. He was now trying to gather enough strength to fight off the fussing nurses. All Dean saw of Jane was a flash of dark hair that raced past him, knocking him out of the way.

Jane entered the hospital room to be confronted by hysterical nurses shouting at her, she could feel someone tugging at her elbow, she presumed it was probably Dean so she shrugged it off violently. Over all the shouting between herself and the nurses they heard a hoarse voice.

"Let...her..."

Everyone turned to see Doyle struggling to breathe and reaching out to Jane. One nurse stepped toward Jane again and received a look off the detective that would have killed, if looks could. As the nurses hooked Doyle up again and helped to make him comfortable Jane turned and gave Dean a look that told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was no longer welcome, not just in this room.

"Rizzoli..."

Jane turned her attention to Doyle and nervously made her way to his side. Flashes of memory of him pointing the gun at Dean and all the stupid emotions she felt in that moment...the slow motion memory of her raising her gun to point at him...the feel of that cold trigger on her finger, the power and confidence it usually gave her wasn't there...she should have known. Her gut was churning in that moment and she should have listened. She felt her heart sink as she remembered pulling that trigger and seeing Doyle fall. Tears fell uninhibitedly as those memories faded into that look on Maura's face...the look that destroyed Jane.

"Hope..."

Jane's attention snapped back to Doyle and his utterance echoed in her mind and she frowned as she remembered him whispering that to Maura. "Hope?" She frowned as he reached for her hand and thrust something in her palm. She opened her hand to look at a crumpled old photograph of a mother and child.

"Hope."

"Maur?" He nodded and she felt mixed emotions welling up inside her, she had a name, she could give Maura that name, they could find her, she could give Maura that family she had always missed out on, the family she had always wondered about. _Maura..._ Her heart sank again and she blinked back her tears. "Maura is mi-" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence and she was stunned when she felt a hand clasp her own. Doyle looked at her with such emotion it was like they were completely different people. He pushed something else into her hand and she looked down at a wobbly handwritten address.

"...caref-" he struggled to speak and the nurses began to usher Jane out. "Maura...danger...save..." His face paled as she was pushed out of the door, but not before she managed to gravely nod at him._ I will save her. I will not let her go._


	11. Chapter 11

_**hopefully things will start making more sense, i will try and get another chapter done today but apologies if i dont manage to x**_

_**also some parts i have researched to make them more real but others i am making up so just a disclaimer the characters are my interpretations and the use of the one 'real persons name' is meant for nothing other than an anchor in the world. I own nothing but my imagination and the words it creates.**_

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The problem with having ambition was that you had to make sacrifices. Sometimes those sacrifices were bigger than you ever imagined. Paddy Doyle wanted nothing more than power as he was growing up. His eye solely focused on the head of the Irish mob in Boston. There was only one problem with that coveted position; James 'Whitey' Bulger. Head of the Irish mob, nasty piece of work and in the way of Paddy getting what he had wanted for as long as he could remember. Paddy paid his dues, he worked his way up the ladder until he was almost Bulger's right hand man. If there was one thing he never considered in his plans, it was children.

Constance Isles had always been an over achiever, anything she set her mind to she seemed to not only accomplish but excel at. Apart from having a child. It wasn't so much that she had a burning urge to become a mother, but it was the natural progression for a woman of her age who had already become successful in her chosen career. The disappointment of not being able to conceive was a blow like Constance had never known, it was frustrating and tension pushed her and her husband apart when they could not successfully conceive. When she was approached by a young Paddy Doyle Constance did something she had rarely ever done before; she let her heart rule her head. The baby girl was small but perfect and she couldn't deny the pull on her heart when she learned that the baby could not be kept with her biological parents. Constance saw the opportunity and took it, never needing to resort to cheating in her academic life it gave her almost a kind of rush to be able to accomplish having a child without all the mess and waiting.

Maura wanted for nothing as she was growing up, one of the advantages of being an Isles. Growing up in the midst of wealth, society and privilege she had everything an average young girl dreams of; ponies, parties and boys. But Maura wasn't an average young girl, she had no use for ponies, parties and boys. With a brilliant mind all she wanted was to explore the world around her in its basest form. Being an Isles gave her a leg up when it came to schools and colleges, it was taken as red that she would attend the best boarding schools and become fluent in several languages, to make her an eligible partner. Luckily for Maura with that expensive education away from home relieved her mother's control over her interests and she was able to explore science with access to expensive equipment. She had always felt that something was different within herself compared to other girls; she never had any friends, everyone made fun of her and called her boring for her inquisitive brain, she had no interest in boys which as a teenager made her weird, she had an overactive passion for the way things were constructed, especially living things which freaked all the other children out. It wasn't something that bothered Maura, she knew she was different, always had, even her mother treated her differently to how she treated other children, it was something Maura accepted and moved on from.

Constance didn't see or hear from Paddy again, much to her relief as he stated to appear in news reports and such for violent crimes and association with the Irish mob and Bulger. Constance had never had that warmness inside her that some women had, it had always served her well, but she noticed that her bond with Maura wasn't like other mother and daughter bonds. She told herself that it wasn't her, that Maura was just independent and headstrong, somewhere buried deep inside her though she knew it wasn't just Maura, there was a small part of her that couldn't see her solely as her daughter, she was Doyle's daughter.

The children messed everything up for Doyle. He was so close to getting to where he so desperately wanted to be and now he felt like he was a million miles away again. Once he started to hatch his plant to rid himself of the problem he had to steel his heart and allow no sentiment in, unfortunately for him, just as he had prepared himself for what had to be done he met Hope Martin. Everything he had schemed and hatched seemed diabolical and dirty once she was in his life. When she fell pregnant with his baby Paddy was torn, should he step away from where he was, everything he had worked for or should he leave Hope and their child too? He made the hardest decision in his entire life and he turned to the last place on earth he ever thought he would look for help; the police. Once he turned snitch and handed Bulger to the cops he knew three lives were at stake; his own, Hope's and the baby's. Once the baby was born he gave her away to someone so far removed from him that she would never be found, he lied to Hope about their daughter dying and left her with a doubly broken heart but he couldn't reveal why he was hurting her. Once Bulger was on the run out of Boston Paddy took his chance and took over at the helm of the Irish mob and ran Boston whilst secretly checking up on his baby daughter.

Maura was twelve when she went missing. Constance was out at an art event when she got the call from the boarding school that her daughter was missing. She left the event furious, and was fully prepared to discipline Maura heavily for this stunt. Once home she discovered her daughter had not escaped home, she checked with everyone who knew them and no one had seen her. It wasn't until the police were called in that Constance suddenly felt that ice cool panic begin to seize at her heart. Hours later with no news Constance was stood in their back yard with a large glass of wine looking up at the stars with a feeling she had never experienced before; hopelessness. A rustling from the bushes startled her and she went to call out when a faintly familiar face stepped out.

Paddy had always had people watching over Maura if he couldn't be there himself, when the report came in that she was missing he immediately sprang into action, this was the day he had prayed would never happen, the day he had prepared himself for and yet it was still the day that made him more terrified than he had ever been. He made his way to Constance's house and found her out in the garden, he collected the brief bits of information she had recovered and he set out to find Maura. It wasn't long until his phone rang. That poorly disguised voice and the faint sound of boats in the background gave Paddy all the clues he needed. South Boston fish docks; One of Bulger's favourite hideaways; a big warehouse where he would take his children.


	12. Chapter 12

_**i promised another chapter today so here we go!**_

_**There won't be an update tomo (im sorry) Im working during the day and its a friends bday in the evening but I will update as much as i can the day after to make it up to you all xx**_

_**rizzles fanfic awards are still open nominations would be lush ;) find me on my blog, twitter, fb & tumblr all under this username x**_

_**this is a continuation from an earlier chapter hence the italics at the start to remind you of where we were. I know the story is jumping all over the place but its supposed to its not just me losing my mind!**_

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_"What are you going to do with me?" The hideous smile returned as did the impending sense of dread._

"I'm going to teach your father a lesson."

Maura frowned at the stranger in front of her as she considered the words. "My father? My father is in France." The laugh that followed chilled Maura down to the bone.

"Little princess doesn't know who she is?" There was an evil gleam in the cruel eyes "Well now, isn't this going to fun!"

Maura gulped as she watched the figure turn its attention back to the hideous plant. She managed to calm her young brain down enough to concentrate on everything else that she could hear, see and smell. She was pretty sure she could hear water and smell salt and the faint odour of fish. Her mind began to process her possible location but she didn't know all of Boston too well, especially not the poorer areas. Just as she was honing in on a new sound, before she could process it the figure span and rushed toward her.

Paddy heard a small scream come from within the warehouse and he kicked down the door and rushed in to see Bulger's son holding Maura with a gun to her head. Paddy skidded to a halt and processed the room in front of him as fast as possible; there were crates to his left, a huge plant at the back of the room and a pulley system above Maura. He lost his focus as he saw those young hazel eyes staring at him in fear. "It's ok...it's gonna be ok." He nodded as convincingly as he could at the young girl. He saw the young man holding the gun look at her with pure disgust. Paddy shook his head "You don't wanna do this, let her go."

"Don't I?" the young man laughed "I really think I do! You ratted dad into the cops and you think that's ok? You think everyone will just fall into line again?"

"You're just a kid."

His face screwed up in anger "A kid?! I'm no kid! You took my dad away from me! do you know what its like going from being right hand man to the boss to, to, to NOTHING?!" Hot angry tears started falling from his eyes. "You took what was mine." He cocked the safety off the gun "Now I'm gonna do the same to you!"

"It's not my fault kid."

"WHAT?! It was all you! If you hadn't ratted him out my dad would be here now!"

Paddy nodded grimly "Yeah...you still wouldn't be nothing though."

"Wha-" He choked on his own voice and he rubbed violently at the tears that were clouding his vision.

"You were never his right hand man. You know that. Why would he have left you otherwise?" The kid was frantically shaking his head in denial. "If you were his right hand man why'd he leave you here to rot?"

"He, he, he wanted me to take care of things here, check you didn't fuck it all up while he was gone!"

Paddy laughed humourlessly "That why he took your little sister and not you?" Paddy took a step forward while the kid was emotional and less observant.

"He had to take my kid sister, she was too young, she couldn't handle it here!"

"Everyone knows she's his favourite. You were never as good, even younger than you she was always smarter, you're just a dumb kid who got in the way."

"No!"

Paddy walked closer still "Sure, that's why he left you here, he doesn't care whether you live or die, why would he?" Paddy held out his hand for the gun "Even if you kill us both, what you gonna do? You really think the boys will ever listen to you? You'd be dead within minutes. Only reason you're alive is me kid."

The kid snapped and the red mist descended he quickly switched his aim and pointed the gun at Paddy who drew his concealed gun at the same time.

The last thing Maura heard was a shot that rang out loudly in the empty warehouse, she closed her eyes and waited for the pain to set in. She collapsed to the floor and held herself. When no pain arrived she cracked open her eyes and the first thing she saw was the purpley flower that was now splattered in dark red blood and paler grey bits of matter. She watched silently as the older man wiped both guns with his handkerchief and placed one in the lifeless hand of the young man. As the older man stood up straight she gasped as she saw a large patch of blood pooling out from underneath his shirt. He started to make his way over to her and she scrambled away from him.

"It's alright now Princess, I'm gonna take you home."

Maura frowned at the stranger and his term of affection as she nervously took his hand "What about him?" She looked at the young man who was missing part of the back of his skull and she could see his exposed brain; it didn't shock or scare her, she was just interested in the sight she had never seen before, and despite what the man had done to her she felt bad for him.

"You don't have to worry about him anymore." Paddy drove them to the police station and leaned across her to open the door to let her out. Maura turned to look at him with her wide eyes and looked at him concerned.

"You need a doctor."

Paddy smiled at his young daughter and the compassion she had for him, a complete stranger who had just killed a man, she reminded him so much of Hope. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and he sighed heavily which caused the wound in his chest to hurt. He doubled over in pain but it vanished as he felt a small hand upon his arm. He looked up into the face of his daughter as she spoke softly to him.

"The bullet may have punctured your lung, you must get to hospital...I can drive..."

The last admission by the small girl made him smile wide as she looked down sheepishly knowing full well she shoulnt know how to drive. The pain caused by laughing was noting compared to the pride he felt. He gently nodded his head "I will, I promise, you need to get home now."

She nodded at him but she was still concerned. She half climbed out of the car before ducking her head back in. "There is no exit wound, the bullet is still inside you, you must apply pressure to the wound as much as you can and travel quickly. You may be suffering from what is known as a "sucking chest wound." These happen when air travels in and out of the wound with each breath, if you have any Saran wrap use that to bind the wound for now."

He smiled gently at the young girl "You should be a doctor. Thank you. You take care ok?"

She nodded at the strange man and watched him drive away before she turned and walked into the police station.


	13. Chapter 13

Maura had never been an overly emotional or sentimental child and Constance had never really put much thought into it, after all she wasn't that way herself. She sometimes pondered how much the nature/nurture argument applied to them but never more so than after her disappearance. When the police brought her home Maura had barely said anything to them and the only words she uttered to Constance were "I'm tired and I'd like to go to bed if I may?" Constance sat with her that night but her little daughter didn't stir once, she put it down to Maura's more sensible nature.

The morning after her kidnapping Maura went straight to the nearest bookstore and bought herself some medical journals which she kept under her pillow and would read them before she drifted off to sleep. Life returned to normal rather quickly which Maura was not surprised by and didn't mind either, she preferred to be left alone than have people hound her for information about what happened. She understood, of course, that the strange man had killed the younger one and they had wanted answers from her but she wouldn't tell anyone what happened. She felt an odd loyalty to the strange man and even though she understood he had done wrong there was no denying that he had saved her life.

It was a shock, then, when screams began ringing out in the middle of the night a couple of weeks later. Constance would wake with a start and rush into Maura's room. Her daughter would be sat bolt upright in bed screaming her lungs out, tears flooding down her face and red raw marks all over her little body from where she had violently scratched herself. It was highly distressing to see her child like this, but more disturbing was that when Constance eventually managed to wake Maura up, the child would look at her questioningly, wipe her eyes, roll over and go back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Maura was aware something wasn't right but every time she woke up in her mother's arms she had no idea why she was there nor why her face was wet and her body sore with marks. Constance constantly questioned her about her nightmares and told her not to be ashamed of them, but the honest truth was that Maura had no idea what her nightmares were about, she couldn't remember anything about them at all. After doing some research Maura found that she was suffering from night terrors that she couldn't wake herself from.

After weeks of screaming and torment Constance decided to seek professional help, the doctors told her that sleep medication may help but often because it was most likely associated with the trauma she had been through it was best to take Maura to therapy. Constance took their advice but as she could have predicted it didn't work because Maura was either unwilling or unable to talk about her experiences and if anything once they started therapy the night terrors got worse. Constance was growing desperate and Maura was anxious to return to boarding school but both knew that couldn't happen until the dreams stopped. They resorted to a hypnotherapist, something Maura was especially cynical about but they needed a solution.

Maura, of course, did some research on hypnotherapy and especially cases in younger children and she decided to try and be as open minded as she possibly could. She refused to let her mother into the room whilst she was hypnotised, firstly not wanting her mother to be exposed to all the details of her kidnapping but also because she was worried about what she would reveal about that strange man and she didn't want to get him into trouble, she was fully cognitive about the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement and was confident that as she didn't witness any crime, as such, she would be able to protect him.

After a few sessions Constance woke one morning realising that she hadn't gotten up in the middle of the night and when she entered Maura's room she found he daughter still fast asleep. Maura requested to be sent back to school immediately as she had decided on a career path, Constance didn't question her but simply granted her wishes and life carried on and all was eventually forgotten.

At school as she engrossed herself in the sciences Maura's memory of the events of that night slowly faded from her mind and as well as the night terrors stopping her mind formed a barrier around that memory and camouflaged it with a passion for medicine and science. When asked years later about her choice in career, Maura simply stated that she had always had a burning desire to understand the way the body worked and how people died and to give those people who couldn't speak out for themselves justice, she had no idea that lurking in the back of her mind somewhere was the underlying reason for all her choices in her adult life.

"Hello Princess."

Maura blinked hard and the intense light faded from in front of her eyes and reality hit her eyes hard. _This warehouse..._ an overpowering sense of déjà vu hit her as she looked around the decrepit empty room. She gasped as she looked to one side of the room and saw both Frost and Angela tied together, Angela looked as if she had been crying hard for a long time and Frost looked like he had been roughed up badly. As she moved to run over to them a hard slap cracked across her soft cheek and her attention was stolen back by their captor.

"Been a long time."

Maura frowned as she tried to place the face but there was no recognition.

"You still don't remember? Even standing in this room you don't remember?"

Little bits of memory were trying to battle their way to the forefront of her mind, the only clear picture in her head was of Doyle. "Doyle..."

"Yeah there we go...keep going Princess."

"I...I was here with...Doyle? But how-"

"Oh yeah, you met Daddy long ago but your precious controlling adoptive mother decided to erase us all from your memory."

"Us?" Maura frowned in confusion.

"Remember him?" the captor held up a picture of a handsome young man who looked in his early twenties.

As Maura stared at the face of the young man all of a sudden it felt like something snapped inside her mind and she dropped to her knees with the severity of the realisation. "Doyle. Him. Here. He...he...had a gun..."

A cruel laugh rang out and echoed around the room "That's right Princess, keep going..."

"D-Doyle...he, he saved me..."

Her captor dragged her up to standing and sneered in her face "Doyle killed him. Shot in him down in cold blood. Murdered him. Because of you. All because of you."

Maura shook her head frantically "No, he shot Doyle, he got a shot off too."

"They ruled suicide. It wasn't. Even the evidence didn't add up but it didn't matter because your precious Daddy paid them off to accept the ruling."

Maua stayed silent as the image of Doyle cleaning the gun, that didn't mean a lot to a young girl, suddenly made her feel incredibly guilty. "I was young, I didn't know, I didn't understand."

"You do now." There was unspoken danger in those words and a chill ran down Maura's spine again.

"You're going to tell them, you're going to get Daddy bagged for the murder of my big brother."

Maura's eyes widened in shock at her captor's admission.

"That's right. You're the reason my family have been torn apart." Maura shook her head and the woman laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah, your dad made my dad run away from everything he worked for. He made us run for years with the cops chasing us down. He made us leave my brother because it was too dangerous for us all to stick together and I was too young to be left behind. He murdered my brother and covered it up as a suicide, blaming my father. My dad never got over that." The woman found herself misty eyed and shook her head to clear the emotion. "We came back this year, to see his grave, it's been 20 years...and dad got caught before we could." She nodded gravely at Maura. "We're gonna go pay our respects."

"No!" Angela cried out, unable to stop herself any longer, Maura was like a daughter and seeing the ME screaming her lungs out and walking through her as if she weren't there and leaving in the middle of the night, like some kind of zombie, not waking up and responding...Angela did all she could do; keep her safe and follow her wherever she went...she couldn't let this maniac take her now.

The steely eyed young woman threw a glance at the tied pair and rolled her eyes, she opened her mouth to respond when the door slammed open and two of her father's faithfuls appeared. "What are you doing? I told you to look out for that detective!"

_Jane._ The name passed through all three minds held captive and they all silently prayed that she would come to their rescue, or at least not be hurt herself.

"We did Boss but theres some old guy asking questions, says he has powerful friends, think he's one of Doyle's."

"So you came straight here?! Eejits!" Panic began to set in as she figured the cops wouldn't be far behind these two bozos. She gestured to the cop and older woman "Deal with them, make it look like an accident. Me and the princess are going on a road trip." She took hold of Maura tightly and dragged her out the back entrance while the ME was kicking and screaming.

Angela looked at Frost who was trying to stay calm for her but she could see the fear shining in his eyes. Angela closed her own and made a silent plea _Janie come on baby, come on, you need to get here now baby. Or send someone here and go get Maura. Come baby you can do it._ She opened her eyes to see the two hulking men approaching them. _Please Janie._


	14. Chapter 14

Maura was tossed out of the car and marched forcefully to a lonely grave. The woman stood next to her whose face has remained steely calm all the time in the warehouse now cracked with emotion. Maura took her distraction over the grave to assess her surroundings; the grave was at the back of an old church which was now derelict, she could see no other forms of life around them and she felt dread swirling in her stomach against the already persistent chills of the evening air in her pyjamas. Maura could see the fire begin to spark in the other woman's face and she knew she had to stall as long as she possibly could. _Jane will come for me...won't she?_ "Paddy Doyle doesn't care about me, he won't care if you kill me."

The other woman scoffed "That why he's dying in hospital coz he shot the guy who tried to kill you and got shot by the cops?"

Maura bit the inside of her cheek at the memory and consequences of that day in the warehouse. "If you know that then you must know that he hasn't been a part of my life at all until very recently. I didn't even know I was adopted."

The woman turned to face Maura with a grim expression "Aw poor little princess. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you is that it?"

"No. I am simply stating that killing me won't get you the reaction you want because Doyle won't care." Even as she said the words she tried to fight against the hives spreading across her chest.

The laugh let Maura know that her lie was not convincing. "You are an awful liar. That's something you didn't get from Daddy." She circled the medical examiner like a predator stalking her prey. "You know I was just going to kill you and let Paddy live with his choices and mistakes...but as it doesn't look like dearest daddy is gonna make it I might let you live after all...with all of the guilt, disappointment and the consequential hate for your adoptive mother."

"She only did what she thought was best for me." Maura took a deep breath as the memories from her childhood floated to the surface.

"She's the same as your real mom."

Maura eyes flew up in desperation at the mention of her birth mother. _How does she know?_

"Your real mom didn't care, didn't want you...gave you up for dead."

Tears filled Maura's eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. Ever since she found out about her adoption she had been curious about her birth mother, what she was like, what she did...whether she was still alive, but to hear that her own mother didn't want her was too much to handle.

The other woman looked at the ME triumphantly, she could see the heartbreak on her face but it wasn't quite enough, she wasn't completely destroyed yet...she smiled as she hatched the next stage..._Hang on Doctor, your punishment is only just beginning...I'm gonna have you in pieces at my feet begging for the release of death before this night is out._

Maura tried to get a hold of her emotions and convince herself that this woman would tell her anything to try and break her and she couldn't let that happen. She stood up tall and held her chin up defiantly.

She could see the small flicker of hope pass across those hazel eyes and she grimaced. "Don't believe me doctor? We'll see about that." She held the knife at the ME and gestured across the graveyard.

As Maura started to walk thoughts were racing and jumbling in her mind. _What does she mean? Where is Jane? What's going to happen to me? I'm not ready to die. Please help me Jane. I have so much I want to do. Jane..._

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Jane sped to the address not giving a fuck about traffic laws nor about anyone who got in her way; she would have mowed over an elderly woman if she got in the way. She felt sick as that thought crossed her mind but there was something that had begun to grow inside of her and it was a dark beast who cared about one thing, and one thing only; _Maura._

As Korsak neared the warehouse where the two men had entered he drew his gun, checked his ammo and began creeping his toward a dirtied window. As he snuck forward he could hear voices inside but was too far to make any words or people out. As he reached the window he heard screaming and his grip on his gun tightened; all he wanted to do was burst in there and take everybody out, but he had no idea how many he was up against nor how many were armed. He poked his head up and quickly peeked in the window; all he could see where the two men from the pub, Frost and Angela who appeared to be tied up. Just as he was about to make his move he heard the skidding of tires and he span to point his gun at the offending car.

Jane flew out of the car, armed with her gun like a bat out of hell, she narrowly stopped herself firing at Korsak who jumped out in front of her with his arms held up. "Fuck! Korsak! You got a death wish or something?!"

"Shh!"

Before Jane could snap at him for shushing her he grabbed her by her lapel and threw her under the window. She glared at him fiercely and opened her mouth to yell again when he began signing at her. He indicated to her that there were two visible perps inside along with Frost and her Ma. At the thought of her Ma in danger it split Jane in two; the cop side of her was hurriedly formulating plans and was burning to spur her body into action. The other half of her was the daughter, the little girl, the teenager, the woman who, as much as her Ma annoyed the hell out of her; putting her in dresses, setting her up with boys, walking in on her, she was her Ma, the one steady in her life, her rock. The tears were there but Jane couldn't let them fall, not yet.

Korsak could see the emotions playing out on the younger detective's face and he had to force himself not to get emotional too; they were victims inside, not his close friends. He steeled himself as Jane did so visibly and she began signing out their plan of attack. Korsak nodded firmly as Jane snuck around the building to find another entrance.

All four people inside heard the squeal of tires and scattering of gravel outside and the pair of heavies drew their concealed weapons and pointed them at the main door they had just come through. Both Frost and Angela exchanged glances of merged emotions; hope and fear. It could be more of the enemy come to help out, or it could be the cavalry. They could only wait to find out. One of the goons gestured to the bigger of the two "Get them up. We do this now." Frost watched as he eyed up the pulley in the ceiling and Frost felt fear begin to rise in his stomach.

As the other goon grabbed the tied pair up off their feet he frowned at his partner "What 'bout the car?" He proceeded to drag Angela and Frost over to the pulley controls and began lowering the large hook.

The smaller guy walked over to the window and grimaced as he saw the unmarked sitting outside. "Cop." Both Angela and Frost shared a look of shared relief. He turned back and barked out an order "Get them hooked onto that thing."

The bigger of the two men did as he was told and hooked the hook of the pulley under the rope holding the two captive before wrapping another length or two of rope around their bodies to secure them. As smiled and waved at the struggling pair as he pressed the up button and watched as their feet left the ground.

"B-Barry..." Angela's voice shook with fear as they rose off the ground.

"It's ok Mrs Rizzoli...you heard someone's outside for us." Frost pretended not to see the dark water at the end of the warehouse, he tried his best to stop the images of drowned corpses he had seen crossing in front of his eyes, he was thankful that Angela couldn't see his face in that moment, she would have immediately realized that everything wasn't ok. _Come on guys, whoever it is out there we need you in here!_

As the larger goon began to lower the pair on the hook down toward the water the smaller one spun at the sound of a door opening. He held the gun out steady in front of him and laughed sinisterly. "Hey Bobby! Check this out!"

Bobby turned away from the controls, leaving Frost and Angela slowly falling toward the black water, as he saw the figure in the doorway he too chuckled as he raised his gun. "Hey ain't that the old timer who warned us off in the pub?"

"Yup. All alone." The smile he gave Korsak was smug "Hey old man, next time you wanna follow up a threat bring back up." The two goons cocked their guns and prepared to pull their triggers as a loud bang rang out from behind them.

"He did."

Gunshots rang out around the warehouse and as two bodies fell to the dirty floor the two left standing threw smug satisfied smiles at Frost and Angela who by this time were up to their chins in the ice cold water.


	15. Chapter 15

_**sorry this is a little short again I've struggled with this chapter, aim to make it up to you all next chapter xx**_

_**also to the guest who has asked about rizzles i assume u r the same person who asked before (if not then sorry) but i already said my stories can be really long and i don't know how long this one will turn out, but yes i believe there will be rizzles but its not going to turn into a major rizzles fest because i dont believe it fits the rest of the story (correct me if u think im wrong) and i dont think people following this are just hanging on for just rizzles (again correct me if im wrong) this is much more about their characters, there will be rizzles because they deserve a happy bit but how much i still dont know, im sorry and as i said before i dont want to lose a reader because im not giving you what i want but i also dont want to rush a story or force rizzles if its not going to work and like i said before u keep asking me why ur here - if u want all rizzles i already pointed u to my other work that is mainly just rizzles.**_

* * *

"Quit grinning and get us out of here will ya?!"

Korsak couldn't help but chuckle at his younger colleague's furious expression and knew it was simply a bravado to cover up his actual fear. "You know a thank you might help."

"I swear to God old man if you d-"

"Will you two shut up already?!" Angela glared sternly at Korsak, the only one she could actually see.

Jane smiled affectionately at her Ma as she rushed across the warehouse and slammed the up button, raising her mother and partner up out of the water and moved them to the middle of the warehouse before lowering them to the floor.

Korsak rushed outside to call it in and grab the blankets he knew Jane kept in the trunk of her car for stakeouts. When he came back in he couldn't help but pause for a moment and smile softly at the scene in front of him; Jane and Angela were holding each other in a tight embrace. As he approached neither woman let go and so he simply wrapped a blanket around them both before tossing one at Frost who ruefully smiled at the older man and wrapped himself in the blanket.

"Ma, I'm so sorry...I, I..." Jane couldn't say what she wanted to she simply hung onto her Ma as hard as she could. She felt so helpless in that moment; it was an odd juxtaposition, she had just saved her Ma, killed the perps and done exactly what she was trained to do, something she normally wouldn't even take the time to think about but having saved her Ma made all the difference.

Janie was clinging to her like a little girl and it was something that almost never happened, even when she was a little girl Jane was so independent she never wanted Angela to kiss her bumps or scrapes away, she would simply go and pound or kick the offending object (or person on occasion though Angela tried to stop that.) She felt so fragile in her arms and yet Angela knew better than anyone juts how strong her daughter could be, after what they all went through with Frank Angela knew that Janie felt it more than the boys and it had nothing to do with her being a girl, more the fact that Jane felt guilty, as the eldest, like it was her job to keep the family together, which, ironically, was exactly what she did when Frank walked out, she helped support Frankie's emotional side, did her best to stabilise Tommy's erratic and wayward tendencies when things went wrong, and was Angela's rock, there if she needed to break down and there when she just needed to laugh and carry on.

Jane didn't have a thought running through he mind in her Ma's arms, she didn't even care that her partner and ex-partner caught her in this rare emotional moment which they would use as blackmail at a later stage, she was just happy to see her Ma safe. So when Angela pushed her off abruptly Jane looked into the older woman's eyes with confusion.

"Maura." The thought had jumped into Angela's mind and her panic levels returned to just as high as they were as she was slowly sinking into that icy water.

The mention of her name made Jane snap back into cop mode on the outside, on the inside the mention of that name made her heart skip a beat and stomach drop and churn with fear. "Where is she?"

"She took her, said something about visiting a grave." Frost stepped forward and produced his phone and tapped a button and a voice rang out around the warehouse;

_"Hello Princess...Been a long time...You still don't remember? Even standing in this room you don't remember?"_

_ "Doyle..."_

At the sound of Maura's weak, confused voice Jane's heart stopped and she clenched her fists.

_"Yeah there we go...keep going Princess."_

_"I...I was here with...Doyle? But how-"_

_"Oh yeah, you met Daddy long ago but your precious controlling adoptive mother decided to erase us all from your memory."_

_"Us?" _

_"Remember him?" _

_"Doyle. Him. Here. He...he...had a gun..."_

_ "That's right Princess, keep going..."_

_"D-Doyle...he, he saved me..."_

_ "Doyle killed him. Shot in him down in cold blood. Murdered him. Because of you. All because of you."_

_ "No, he shot Doyle, he got a shot off too."_

_"They ruled suicide. It wasn't. Even the evidence didn't add up but it didn't matter because your precious Daddy paid them off to accept the ruling."_

_"I was young, I didn't know, I didn't understand."_

_"You do now." _

Jane stopped listening and turned to Korsak "Get me names of male suicides around ten years ago or older linked to the Irish mob." Korsak nodded as he dialled his phone.

_ "We came back this year, to see his grave, it's been 20 years...and dad got caught before we could...We're gonna go pay our respects."_

Jane looked gravely at Frost "You good?" He nodded eagerly. "Get me the address of that church you two." Both men nodded as they set about their researching. Jane turned to face her Ma and opened her mouth.

Angela placed gentle hands either side of Janie's face and smiled proudly at her "You go save her baby, but be careful, this girl has lost a lot."

Jane smiled humourlessly "Yeah? She's about to lose a lot more."

* * *

Maura stood in the cold, dark evening air, her hair dampened by the slight drizzle that was falling, her face pale and lifeless. The more she stared, the more she couldn't believe what she was seeing. _It can't be..._

_Baby Maura Doyle._

_Born August 7 1976. _

_Died August 7 1976. _

_"Safe from all earthly harm."_

Maura felt like she couldn't breathe as she stared at the words. She could feel the blackness creeping up on her, she could see black spots in front of her eyes trying to claim her once again. She struggled against it but her heart was pounding furiously and her lungs were sucking in the maximum capacity of air already, nothing inside her could calm down. It was only when she heard the voice that it gave her something else to focus on, helping her cling onto consciousness for a little longer.

"Safe from all earthly harm. That didn't work out all that well did it?"

"Jane..." It was hardly above a whisper but simply saying her name stayed the onslaught of the darkness just a little.

"Jane? The detective? You really think she's gonna make it here?" The woman laughed cruelly. "She couldn't piece together all the clues I left behind for you. I made it so easy so we could have more time together." She produced a bag of rudely crushed purple powder from her pocket. "She slowed the whole process down so I had to speed it all up instead. She won't make it in time."

Maura frowned at the powder "Bunga bangkai..."

"That's right. My father was fascinated with this beauty. The way it attracts animals and insects to it with the odour, almost like entrapment...The original plan was to get you to swear a statement putting Doyle away for the murder of my brother, kill you and let him rot in jail alone and bitter. Then I discovered he wasn't likely to make it, what's the use in killing both of you?" She didn't miss the flash of relief in the medical examiner's eyes. "That doesn't mean we can't still have a little fun." She laughed as the hope in Maura's eyes faded as quickly as it had appeared.


	16. Chapter 16

_**too short i know im sorry im struggling at the moment i've lost my mojo :( please let me know if you think im failing miserably, im sorry if i am im really trying to do the prompt i was given justice but i don't know if i am anymore.**_

_**I will try and get another chapter done today but no promises**_

* * *

Frost barely managed to shout out the name of the church and street name before Jane slammed the car door shut and raced off in a blur of squealing tires and smoke. She held off blaring the siren out not wanting to spook the psycho who had Maura. _Maura._ Just the thought of her made Jane feel anxious and she felt her heartbeat rattling against her ribcage.

The look in the woman's eyes was nothing short of deranged yet there was an odd calm about her that was unsettling Maura; like she had already resigned herself to her fate and this was just a last fling...which meant there was little Maura could threaten her with to try and stop her. The ME looked warily at the crushed powder and gulped nervously. She was aware, of course, that parts of the 'corpse flower' were poisonous, but she had no idea which parts nor the volume of one would have to consume for it to be deadly...she presumed there was only one way they were going to find out.

"Fuck!" Jane only just managed to slam her foot down on the brake as a fire truck came screaming across the intersection. Her heart was in her throat and she sat for a moment panting, eyes wide and mouth dry. _Fuck._ She took a long slow deep breath and closed her eyes trying to focus herself. She had always prided herself on being able to stay calm in these situations; it was her job after all. No matter how scared she was or how helpless it seemed she always tried to keep her head and control the situation but as she sat behind the wheel of her car she trembled and she couldn't stop the endless flow of tears. _Maura._ The name kept repeating in her head, it had started like a chant, a mantra, to keep her going but now it weakened and it was more a sob, a cry, a plea. _Please be ok Maur...please._ A loud honk from the car behind her jolted her back into reality and she took off again, knuckles white with the tight grip on the steering wheel and her jaw aching from gritting her teeth so hard.

"Eat it." The command was simple, her tone simply matter of fact; she knew Maura had no other option so what was the point in wasting her energy.

Maura sat perfectly still, unable to tear her attention away from the words on the tombstone in front of her. She didn't say a word and outwardly appeared calm but on the inside a waterfall of emotion was cascading over her. _Would anyone care if I did take that poison? Every parent I have ever known has lied to me or denied my existence. I have no one._

"She won't make it you know." It was taking longer to crack the medical examiner than she had bargained for, in her fantasies of this moment she would fall apart as soon as she saw her name on the grave but she was still saying strong. She hadn't even cried yet.

It took Maura a moment to catch on to what the woman was implying. _Jane._ The hopelessness she had just been feeling lifted slightly at the thought of the brunette detective. _Jane._ The one true friend she had ever had, the polar opposite to herself, the infuriating, sarcastic impatient woman who had a serious caffeine and dessert addiction. The ME found herself smiling in spite of everything. _Jane...I'm not alone...I have Jane...and Jane has me. I'd do anything for her. I know she'll come for me._

She saw the small smile and an angry growl escaped, she thrust the powder at the medical examiner. "Take it!"

Maura could hear the desperation begin to creep into her voice and the darkness faded back just a little more. She glanced at the purple substance and back into those furious eyes and gave a small shake of her head.

"You really believe she's going to come and rescue you don't you? When her mother is dying this very moment? You really think she'd choose you?" She knelt down to challenge the hope in those hazel eyes "You really think she cares that much about you? She shot dearest daddy remember...and you are your father's daughter, what makes you think she'd want to save you? His genes run through your veins..." She could see the doubt begin to creep back "Do you think she sees him when she looks at you? Can you ever escape your birthright?"

Maura tried to keep hold of that hope, the belief she had in Jane but she couldn't help but feel the doubts begin to rise to the surface. "_He's just the sperm donor._"_ Did Jane really believe that? Do I really believe that?_ "I-I am not my father..." Maura didn't know who she was trying to convince in that moment. She gasped as a rough hand grabbed her by the back of the neck and gripped her tightly and forced her head to look at the grave.

"No you're not...you're no one."

The blackness began to swim through the ME's head again as the angry face came dangerously close and stared at her with deadly intent.

"You will do what I tell you to Princess. One way or another."

Maura heard the distinct click of the safety being taken off a gun and she began to shake with fear. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the barrel of the gun edging its way closer to her and she focused her eyes on the substance instead.

"That's it Princess, be a good girl."

With a trembling hand Maura reached out and took the crushed up flower parts from her captor and felt the darkness returning, it blurred her vision and she could feel the bile rising up the back of her throat, the tears she had held at bay for so long began to crawl down her cheeks. The laugh that shot through her ears made her heart sink and the next words she heard were all she could think of.

"She's too late princess."

_She's too late. She's too late. She's too late._


	17. Chapter 17

_**much happier with this chapter, thank you for all the encouragement - means a lot to me and you successfully brought me out of my funk x sorry this wasn't done yesterday but i had to take a break away from it and come back stronger (i hope anyway!)**_

_**i wish I had a muse which someone mentioned but I don't all I have is a Dennis :/ and no Jane to help me out :(**_

* * *

Maura stared at the deep purple colour in front of her for what felt like years. The cold hard fingers were still digging into the back of her neck serving as a constant reminder of the situation she was in. She could smell the metallic tang of the gun hovering close by. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and yet it felt the weakest it ever had, like it too had given up. Somewhere she could hear birds chirping in the trees; at odds with the terrible fear ravaging her insides. An overwhelming urge to laugh bubbled up from inside her. Her rational logical scientific mind was telling her that she could be slipping into some sort of shock whilst the other side of her mind was babbling nonsense at her. As she opened the lid to the dish the malodorous stench wafted up to her nostrils and took her back to that night so many years ago. She could feel her conscious slipping away from her again and her mind desperately clambered for some kind of anchor to hold onto, eventually it found her trusty old companion; science. _Amorphophallus is toxic if not prepared properly as it contains calcium oxalate crystals. Calcium Oxalate CaC__2__O__4. __Even a small dose of calcium oxalate is enough to cause intense sensations of burning in the mouth and throat, swelling, and choking that could last for up to two weeks. In greater doses it can cause severe digestive upset, breathing difficulties, coma or even death. Recovery from severe oxalate poisoning is possible, but permanent liver and kidney damage may occur._

She could see the thoughts turning inside in the medical examiner's mind. She tightened her grip on the back of her neck and tapped the side of her had with the butt of the gun as a less than gentle reminder of her options.

Maura could barely control her shaking fingers as she reached out and gathered a pinch of the dark purple matter between her fingertips. She looked up into the cold hard eyes that were studying her. She gasped slightly as she saw the pure unadulterated joy that lay within the blackness of those eyes. She had met some disturbed people in her life and had had her life threatened before..._Hoyt..._the mere thought of his name made the scar under her chin tingle and begin to burn. He was a highly disturbed man with an obsession with Jane like nothing she had ever seen before..._Jane..._and yet when she looked deep into his eyes there was a glimpse of humanity still there...but these eyes? There was no empathy, no regret, just joy. In that moment Maura gave up all the tiny remainders of hope that had lodged themselves in her heart. _It's over._

The smile that spread across her face, as she watched Maura place her fingers inside her mouth and pull them out clean, almost hurt as it spread from ear to ear with glee.

As Maura's mind sank down into the inky blackness that claimed her once again it couldn't focus clearly, she didn't know if the burning sensations in her mouth and throat were real or simply an hallucination her mind had concocted because she knew all too well what should be happening to her, and what would happen eventually. She clamped her eyes shut against the truly evil laugh that escaped the other woman's lips.

"Come on Princess, a little more."

There was a small part of Maura screaming at her to stand up, to fight, to not die in this submissive way. As she focused on that little voice she discovered it was coming from near her intestines and she smiled internally as she realised who it was. _Jane. _Of course it was Jane who was lodged in her gut begging her to listen. A little giggle escaped as she grasped another pinch of the dust. _Jane is inside me. Jane is a part of me. I'll never have to leave her, she's coming with me._

The giggle shocked her completely but not as much as the resounding click of a gun that echoed around the otherwise empty graveyard. Time seemed to slow right down as she hoisted Maura up by her neck and swirled them both around to face the barrel of a gun. She held the ME as tight to her as she possibly could and hid behind her wavy hair as she held the gun flush against the medical examiner's head. "Too late."

The sing song tone of her voice snapped any resolve Jane had left inside her. If only she didn't have Maura clasped to her this bitch would be full of holes and bleeding everywhere. She forced herself to not focus on the gun or the gleeful bitch holding it but instead on Maura. She felt physically sick as she looked at her; _something's not right...why isn't she opening her eyes...why is she smiling? _Jane shook her head slightly _At least she's alive._ That thought made her heart pound twice as fast and she had to remind herself they weren't safe yet. "Maur?"

_Jane's still talking to me._ Maura giggled again. _I hear you little Jane._

"Maur?" The laugh that ripped out of Maura's captor was almost a cackle, it clawed down Jane's spine and she felt her whole body tense up. "Maura!"

_No need to shout little Jane I can hear you, I always hear you, you're a part of you, I can feel you._

"Maura look at me! please Maur? Look at me!" Jane didn't care that she was begging, she didn't care that the bitch was howling with laughter. _Come on Maur tell me I'm not too late._

_Look at you? I can see you. I see you every time I close my eyes. My Jane._ Maura felt something churn in her stomach and she poked her head out of the blackness for a brief moment. _"Look at me!"_ Something reached down into the darkened abyss and pulled her up toward the light and she blinked her eyes open in pain. "J-J-Jane?"

Her voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper but she might as well have screamed her name for all Jane heard. Her heart soared and her spirits lifted. "Yeah, yeah Maur, it's me, I'm here I made it."

The happy look on the detective's face made her feel sick, she swung her gun out from Maura's head and levelled it at the brunette. "Actually detective, you're a little late." She looked pointedly at the container in the ME's hands and revelled at the drop in the detective's expression.

"No. No...no...NO! Maura tell me you didn't take any of that? Maur?"

"Amorphophallus is toxic if not prepared properly as it contains calcium oxalate crystals. Calcium Oxalate CaC2O4. Even a small dose causes intense sensations of burning in the mouth and throat, swelling, and choking. In greater doses it can cause severe digestive upset, breathing difficulties, coma or even death. Recovery from severe oxalate poisoning is possible, but permanent liver and kidney damage may occur. Medication administered at the emergency room may include diphenhydramine, epinephrine, or famotidine, all intravenously."

Jane's heart sank at the information that Maura had just given her. Certain words echoed around her mind; _Coma...death...permanent damage...emergency room._ That last thought spurred Jane back into action. _Good girl Maura, tell me how to save you. _"it's ok Maura I'm here now. Everything's gonna be ok, I'm gonna save you ok?"

"She won't save you. She doesn't care about you. She doesn't have what it takes to save you."

Maura's mind battled between the demon whispering in her ear and the heavenly husky voice of Jane trying to anchor its place in her heart.

"I'd do anything for you Maur, you know that, I'll kill anyone who hurts you, just like I did before."

"She shot your father, the only one who knows your real mother, she tried to kill your flesh and blood."

Maura frantically shook her head trying to banish the demon from her mind but she could feel it's hot breath against her ear.

"I'd never hurt you Maur, you know that, you know me."

"Open your eyes Princess."

Maura struggled against the glaring light and she squinted against its power until it softened and Jane's beautiful face came into focus and she smiled affectionately at the brunette.

Jane beamed at Maura and felt all the tension leave her body. _Atta girl, we can get through this together._ Her happiness vanished as she saw Maura's expression drop as her eyes focused on the gun Jane was holding. "No, Maur..."

_Jane is pointing a gun at me._ Tears streamed down her face and she frantically shook her head as two halves of her battled; her rational mind knew that Jane wasn't pointing the gun at her but her irrational mind that was being manipulated by the demon was screaming at her. _She wants to kill me._


	18. Chapter 18

"Doesn't this bring back memories hey Princess?"

As Maura struggled to keep her eyes open her vision twisted into a kaleidoscope. Images twisted and turned in front of her eyes and no matter how many times she tried to blink them away she couldn't. Paddy. Jane. Stood side by side. Both aiming guns at her. Sobs began wracking her body and her heart cried out in extreme pain.

"Maur...Maur? It's me, Maur, me Jane I'm not gonna hurt you baby. Maur please!" It was killing Jane to see Maura staring at her gun and sobbing her heart out. _Put it down, you're scaring her. _Her cop instinct was fighting against her heart's pleas. _You can't, if you put it down she'll shoot you, or Maura or both. I have to protect her._

"Y-you hate me." Maura wasn't sure which of the two apparitions she was talking to. "You don't want me alive."

"Maur no. Come on, focus, it's me, it's Jane. I would never hurt you!"

Doyle was shaking his head at her but not saying anything and she felt her anger at him spear through her pain and upset. She met Jane's eyes with the fury she felt for Doyle. "You hate me because of him!" she pointed at Doyle "You want me dead because I'm just like him!"

Jane's heart was breaking to see Maura losing her mind like this, she could only imagine the horrors going through that beautiful mind. "No Maur, you're nothing like him. I swear to you Maur I will never ever hurt you."

Maura couldn't focus clearly the image was rippling like choppy waves. She closed her eyes and was enveloped by the deep darkness again.

Jane saw those beautiful hazel eyes roll back into Maura's head leaving nothing but white and she let every barrier down, she let loose, gave everything she could pleading with Maura not to give in. "Maura! Don't leave me! I love you Maur! I'll never hurt you as long as I live, please, please don't leave me!"

_"I love you Maur!"_ Something deep within Maura reached out in hope to those words and whilst she could feel herself rushing toward the light she couldn't quite break through it but her babbling mind eased and her breathing returned to normal and she started to internally focus on each action of her body.

Jane could see the calm wash over Maura and whilst it wasn't enough, at least it was something for now. Jane took a deep breath and ground her teeth together. She raised her eyes aflame with fury and aimed them right into the fearful eyes of Maura's captor.

She gulped. The detective was getting her balls back and the medical examiner had stalled on the pathway to full blown crazy. _Shit! Get it together, we had this! Get it back._ She hid herself a little more behind Maura until she was satisfied the detective had no shot whatsoever. She moved her lips to find Maura's ear. "Take some more Princess, it'll make you feel better." She pressed the gun against her head again just in case she needed a little more encouragement.

The demon was back, clawing at her trying to drag her back down to the inky depths.

"Don't listen to her Maur, concentrate on my voice. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, don't take any more of that stuff."

The angel was reaching through the light trying to pull her back out but Maura just couldn't quite reach.

She swung the gun back to point at the detective and whispered into Maura's ear again. "Take some more Princess or I will shoot Jane."

A white hot electric spark shot through the middle of Maura's heart at the thought of Jane being shot and it propelled her back to that day outside the precinct. She was running out of the doors again just to see Jane collapsing to the floor with Bobby Marino lying underneath her, blood pooling out onto the sidewalk. Maura kneeled in the puddle pressing her hands tight to Jane's wound praying to a deity she didn't believe in to save her friend. "No! Stay with me Jane! Don't leave me! F-Frankie's gonna be ok."

The words took Jane back to the same moment as she lay fading beneath Maura's hands. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched Maura relive that moment again. "No Maur! I'm right here, I'm ok! You saved me remember! I'm ok!"

"She won't be if you don't take some more."

The evil whisper in her ear shattered the glimmering hope the angel's voice had instilled in her. She felt the substance between her fingertips before she could fully register what she was doing.

"NO!"

The scream paused Maura's actions and the light briefly washed a little closer like the tide to the shore.

"I'll shoot her before she can pull the trigger Maur, don't do it!"

The bitter laugh echoed around on the chilled wind "We both know you don't have a shot detective...and you're not gonna shoot through the woman you love just to get to me."

Jane wanted nothing more than to wipe that triumphant smile on her face with a bullet but sadly Jane knew she was right; there was no way she had a clean shot, and even less chance she would ever put a bullet inside Maura even if it wasn't fatal. _Shooting myself to save Frankie and Maura was easy...but this...I can't shoot Maura. _As the horrific images plagued her brains she noticed that Maura was doing something very odd, luckily her captor was so hidden behind her that she couldn't see.

Maura felt like her limbs had pins and needles and yet she was standing strong still, it was a very strange feeling almost like she had foam hands that she could move but not feel fully. She couldn't concentrate on the noises she could hear clearly but as she closed her eyes she began mapping out a journey on her body. _Clavicle. Scapula. Rectus femoris. External oblique._

_Genius. _Jane had to hide her smile so as not to alert Maura's captor. _She's telling me all the places I could shoot her without killing her but disabling her captor._ Jane felt her insides sink as the internal battle within herself commenced; _I cannot shoot her. No matter whether it kills her or not I cannot put a bullet through Maura. But if I don't she's either gonna die from that stuff or she'll get shot in the head, no way she can recover from that. But it's Maura. I can't pull the trigger at Maura._

Hot heavy tears escaped from the detective's eyes and she realised that she was considering shooting through the ME to get to her. _She's stronger than I gave her credit for._ She had to up her game again "Take some more Princess, or I will shoot her now. She will never shoot you, she's too weak. Its either you or her Princess, who do you wanna save?"

"Don't do it Maur, you don't have to do this. Do not sacrifice yourself." Jane's heart was torn in two by the weight of her indecision and the weary look on Maura's face.

Maura could feel herself floating back down away from the light and didn't have the strength to hang on anymore. She wasn't even aware that she had her fingers in her mouth already, she couldn't feel the burning, the aching, she was simply drifting away into the claustrophobic darkness.

Jane let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried to furiously blink away her stinging tears as she tried to steady her gun at Maura's captor. Her hands were shaking from the overwhelming emotion and she couldn't guarantee the accuracy of her shot. _I've failed her._

The loud click that shot down her eardrum burst Maura out of her abyss and she opened her eyes to see the gun by her ear being levelled at Jane who was crying so much her aim was all over the place. Maura managed to shake her head and though her tongue was thick and dry she managed to slur out the words "Y-you...said...if...I...she...safe."

"What can I say? I'm my father's daughter."

Jane's tear streaked distraught face and her captor's cruel laugh was the last thing Maura saw and heard before she gave in completely to the darkness. The birds she heard earlier scattered into the air as a loud gunshot echoed in the dark icy cold air that matched the gloomy place that had encased Maura and claimed her as its own.


	19. Chapter 19

Jane's eyes widened in shock as the gunshot cracked in the cold air. She closed her eyes and waited for the onslaught of pain. Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name being whispered so softly it was barely a sound. She saw Maura crashing toward the ground and her body moved of its own accord and she flew across the ground to catch her before she hit the floor.

Dean raced across to check the pulse of Bulger's daughter still aiming his smoking gun at her. She was gone. He glanced quickly over at Maura and Jane and watched them sadly for a moment as it truly dawned on him how much he had hurt them both by his actions, he just hoped that they could recover from this. He walked away to call it in and thank Frost for calling him for his help.

Jane's tears were splashing onto Maura's soft cheeks and she gently shook her "Hey Maur, it's ok, it's ok now, she's gone, you're safe...Maur? Maur? Please don't leave me Maur." She gathered the medical examiner close to her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead praying to be able to see those sparkling hazel eyes. Maura's eyes remained closed and Jane rocked them both her violent sobs "Maur come on please? I love you. I love you so much don't leave me..."

The paramedics had to pry Jane off Maura's body before they could load the ME into the ambulance and raced away to the hospital. Once she had passed on all the Googletalk that Maura had blabbed in her half conscious state about the flower and the crystals, they thanked her and hurried away as fast as they could. Jane watched the ambulance drive off and felt her heart rip away with the squeal of the sirens. All she wanted was to climb in with Maura and be by her side every second she could, unfortunately what had happened had to be investigated and she needed to give evidence and statements.

Korsak had finished taking Frost and Angela back to the precinct when he got the phone call from Agent Dean, he raced to the location given and ducked under the crime scene tape to see Jane stood alone in the midst of all the chaos looking frailer than he'd ever seen her. They had been through a lot together what with Hoyt and although it hurt at the time he know understood why they couldn't be partners anymore. Seeing her looking so lost and alone hurt him deeply and he draped a blanket across her shoulders.

Jane jumped a little at the contact and wiped away her upset with embarrassment "Thanks." Korsak didn't say a word but Jane could see in his kind eyes that he understood completely; he had always been too good at reading her. She managed a weak smile at him and she looked over at Dean. "This mean I gotta apologise to him?"

Korsak chuckled, there was still some good old Rizzoli left inside her, he shrugged and raised an eyebrow "Maybe."

She sighed heavily not wanting to talk to Dean at all but knowing she owed him a lot. She slowly walked over being careful not to look at the body that Dr Pike was crouched over; it was too soon to relive it all. "Dean."

"I know you told me not to follow you but what can I say old habits die hard."

She managed a small smile grateful that he was trying to be humorous about it and not a smug prick. She still hadn't forgiven him, not by a long shot, but who knows, if Maura made it then...maybe...her thoughts drifted off with the wind as that name stabbed her heart. _Maura._

"We got this J-" Dean just managed to stop himself "Detective." He cleared his throat. "Go get your girl."

She looked at him with questioning eyes and he smiled sadly before walking away to catch up with Korsak and Dr Pike. She watched him walk away and as the wind curled around the back of her neck she felt a tension she didn't even know she had lift off her shoulders and drift away into the night.

* * *

Maura lay in the hospital bed, silent and still. She looked so frail and fragile that the bed looked far too big for her. It was almost too much for Jane to bear to see her like this. Her usually glowing skin was sickly and pale, her sparkling eyes lay shut against the world, her stunning smile complete with mischievous dimples was hiding away and gave her a seriousness that didn't suit her. Jane felt like a part of her was missing looking at the ME lying there. She didn't think it possible but she would have given anything in that moment for Maura to wake up and hate her, to go back to outside the warehouse after Jane had shot Paddy...anything to have her awake and safe. Jane slowly made her away around to the side of the bed and sat down in the chair there. She felt awkward and nervous and was unsure what to do with herself. She gingerly lay her hand on top of the medical examiner's. It was an action she had done a million times before; despite not being a particularly tactile person Maura had always been the only Jane felt comfortable around, so much so that she didn't even flinch when Maura's hands met her own or vice versa. She gently interlinked their slender fingers and her emotions were at odds with one another; part of her soared with delight at the new intimacy and yet the rest of her wanting to break down at the unusual coldness beneath Maura's soft skin.

Constance hobbled down the corridor with the help of a nurse to go see her daughter whom she had just learned had been admitted. She stopped just short of the doorway and watched through the partially blinded window. The detective, Jane, was sat next to her bed, holding Maura's hand and had the strangest mix of emotions playing out on her face, she looked the happiest Constance had ever seen and yet there was an undercurrent of such sadness it brought a tear to her own eye.

Jane looked up startled as there was a commotion outside, all she could see were nurses bustling about hurriedly and then as they parted she saw the back of Constance Isles hobbling back down the corridor. Jane went to chase after her when a nurse burst through the door breathless. "What is it?"

"Paddy Doyle?" Jane nodded with a frown of concern "His vitals dropped once he was informed of Doctor Isles' condition and he crashed just a second ago, but before he did he shouted your name Detective..."

Jane stood in silence for a moment contemplating what to do. On the one hand she owed it to him to go and see him after all without his help who knows if she would have made it in time...and yet without him none of this would have happened. She nodded gravely at the nurse and leaned down, bringing Maura's hand to her lips laying a gentle kiss to it. "Be right back Maur." Just as Jane was about to drop her hand she felt Maura squeeze her hand and Jane gasped in delight.

"N...n...no...leave..." Maura struggled to get any words out and she frowned painfully at the jumble of sounds she has thrown together. She was struggling somewhere between the abyss and the light when she heard the husky tones of her detective talk about leaving her. As her faculties slowly crawled back to her she used all of her strength to cling onto the scarred hand intertwined with her own.

Jane held onto that hand as if her life depended on it, her smile so wide it threatened to split her face in half and tears of happiness cascading down her face as she watched Maura struggle to blink open those big beautiful eyes. When their eyes met it was a beautiful moment that they both wanted to last for a lifetime.

"Detective?" the nurse didn't want to interrupt but she had seen the signs, there was a good chance that Mr Doyle would not be waking up in the morning.

Jane looked to the doorway and was torn again, the last thing she wanted on this earth was to ever leave Maura again, but what kind of friend, what kind of person would she be if she let her father possibly die without at least hearing his last words out.

"Y...y...you..." Maura spluttered and coughed and winced at the excruciating pain.

"Shh Maur, be patient, don't talk yet." Jane tried to loose her hand to reach for the glass of water on Maura's bedside but Maura wouldn't let go of her hand so Jane had to reach over herself with her other arm to bring it down to Maura's dry lips. "Here drink some water."

Maura drank greedily and managed the tiniest smile but as she did she saw the beaming reaction on Jane's face and she knew it was only a start but it was a good one. The nurse in the doorway cleared her throat again and Maura felt Jane go to let go again. "Jane...please..."

Jane looked into those hazel pools that were filling up with tears. _No one is more important than you baby...that's why I have to do this._ Jane didn't want to tell her, not when she was so fragile but she wouldn't let her leave unless she understood. "It's your father Maur...he's in a bad way."


	20. Chapter 20

_**next chapter will be the last chapter i do believe so thanks for sticking with me xx i will post the original prompt sent to me too so u can see where this came from x**_

_**and yes I like cliffhangers so sue me (no don't!) I can't help it! It comes from writing scripts and needing them to keep people watching I'm sorry I know people get annoyed with me but its a useful tool when I can only write so much per day as I have a full time job and have now started rehearsals in the evening too x**_

* * *

Maura looked into Jane's deep chocolate eyes and for the first time in what felt like forever she felt completely calm and centred. Their tightly linked fingers gave her little butterflies in her stomach and she smiled affectionately at the detective. The mention of Doyle, however, flooded the memories back into her brain and she could feel the darkness clutching at her again. She shook her head as hard as she could "I don't care."

Jane's smile weakened as she saw the fear return to those hazel eyes and she would have given anything to banish all those thoughts and feelings from Maura's mind. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around her and protect her from everything. She didn't want to upset her anymore after what she had been through today but Jane knew all too well that if Doyle died and Maura didn't get that one last chance to see him she'd regret it for the rest of her life. "You don't mean that."

Maura tried to scowl at her best friend as she moved her free hand to cover up her burning chest as she spoke. "I do."

"I don't need to see the hives to know you're lying Maur." Jane smiled affectionately at the medical examiner who was trying her hardest to look annoyed with her but still wouldn't loose her hand.

"I don't care." Maura looked away from those chocolate eyes and felt herself welling up "My parents abandoned me."

Jane sighed deeply as she saw the emotion welling up inside Maura and felt her own tears begging to be let loose. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled photograph and pressed it into Maura's hand. "Paddy wanted to protect you, they'd have killed you if they knew you were alive."

Maura shook her head and closed her eyes against Jane's words.

"You'll regret it if you don't see him Maur...especially if he..." Jane couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence partly due to the overwhelming emotion she felt as Maura opened her eyes and looked so fragile and scared, and partly because if Doyle died...it would be her fault. _I would have killed her father._

Maura took a deep breath before she looked at the crumpled object Jane had handed to her, as if it were going to uncurl and bite her. She couldn't help but let her tears cascade down her face as she stared at a photograph of a woman who looked disarmingly familiar holding a tiny baby. "Is this..." she couldn't bring herself to say the words, to allow herself to hope.

"Hope." Jane's voice was thick with emotion as she Maura let go of her hand for the first time and stroked the woman in the photograph's face.

"Hope?" Maura was taken back to the warehouse as Doyle lay on the ground struggling to speak. _Hope._ Maura looked up at Jane questioningly "How?"

"Doyle gave it to me, when he gave me the address of the warehouse. Told me to save you."

Maura took another look at the photograph and then nodded resolutely "Let's go."

The room was full of bleeping machines and fussing nurses as they waited to gain access. Once the staff had stabilised Doyle they made room for Jane to wheel Maura into the room; her being too weak to walk for the moment. Jane turned to leave once she had placed Maura next to the bed but she turned as Maura's hand reached out to grab her own. Jane looked at her questioningly.

"Stay." It was halfway between a command and a question but Maura couldn't have her leave now, not after everything she had done for her, and also because Maura wasn't sure if she was strong enough to face this alone.

Doyle hurt everywhere it seemed. There had been so many different problems due to the initial gunshot wound and then also the fall had complicated his injuries. So many internal bleeds it felt like every time he started to recover another one would send him reeling into surgery again. He had fought as hard as he could with the hospital staff to get Rizzoli in here, he needed to tell her everything, just in case...

"Doyle?" Jane lightly placed a hand on his leg to rouse him.

"Rizzoli?" Her voice cut through the pain and reminded him of the last thing he heard before the last time he blacked out. _Maura._ His eyes flew open and he blinked hard a few times to truly understand what he was seeing. _Maura. _"Maura?"

"Yes." Maura was so overwhelmed by all the different feelings she had in that moment it was all she could manage to say. It wasn't until Paddy began to sob softly that the anger toward him melted away into compassion. She let go of Jane's hand and gently held his big rough one.

Paddy was so relieved at seeing Maura awake and safe that he was lost for words. He did all he could manage which was to nod at the detective who stood by his daughter's side.

Doyle nodded at her and Jane returned the gesture knowing full well what he was trying to convey. She placed a soft hand on Maura's shoulder letting her know that she was right next to her.

Maura couldn't find the words to ask him all the questions she had so instead she replaced her hand with the crumpled photograph and gave him a moment to look at it.

Looking at Hope holding their tiny daughter brought back all the conflicting emotions he had all that time ago. He was so happy and proud looking at his baby girl and yet there was always the nagging worry that if anyone found out about her she could be killed without a second thought, without mercy. As he looked at Hope's happy smiling face in the picture he felt the guilt stab him in the chest and he began to hyperventilate.

Maura shot out of her wheelchair ignoring the reeling inside her head and secured the oxygen mask over Doyle's face. "Keep breathing. Oxygen. Deep. Slow." Even though her throat was screaming in pain at the effort it took to talk she had to help.

Jane couldn't help but smile as she helped Maura ease back down into the wheelchair. _She just can't help herself._

Once he had calmed down and his breathing had returned to normal Paddy let a wry smile peek at the corner of his mouth as he looked into those big hazel eyes he often saw in his dreams. "You...should...be...a...doctor."

The words from their past made Maura smile in surprise. She expected there to be anger and hurt when she saw him but somehow she felt at peace sitting with him like she had somehow already forgiven him.

Jane watched the two smile at one another and had never been prouder. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Constance in the doorway. Her eyes were red raw from crying and she was shaking uncontrollably. Jane moved to comfort her but Constance shook her head furiously before shuffling away again. Jane felt her heart go out to her, she didn't know the full story behind what had happened all that time ago but she could see the guilt lying heavy within Constance and she hoped that the scene in that room might help to relieve some of that.

Paddy turned his attention back to the photograph and he turned it over before looking at Jane and waving his finger in the air. She looked momentarily confused until she caught on and handed him a pen. He steadied his hand as much as possible before he touched ink to paper and scribbled something down before grasping Maura's hand and pushing the photo back into it. He didn't say a word, he wasn't sure if he could, but as she looked at the back of the photo and looked back to him with wet eyes he knew he didn't have to say a word.

_Hope Martin. _


	21. Chapter 21

Maura stared at the letters for so long that they began to move across the paper and didn't make sense any more. She looked up at Paddy with tears in her eyes and she squeezed his hand in thanks. As she looked down at the address below the name her mind began to swim and fear began to set in. _She didn't want me either._

Paddy saw the doubt in his daughter's eyes and shook his head until she looked up at him. "Told her...you...dead...birth."

Maura's eyes widened in shock and she stared at him in disbelief "You told her...?"

Paddy closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. "Sor-"

"No. Don't." Maura had found some strength from somewhere as she glared at Paddy. "Why?"

He inhaled the oxygen deeply before lifting the mask and digging deep for the strength and courage to tell her everything. "She never knew the truth. They would have killed you both." He took another long breath "I made wrong choice. You shouldn't pay for that."

Jane noticed movement in the doorway and turned to see Dean leaning against the doorframe. She moved away from Maura and Paddy and hissed at him "Why are you here?"

"Thank you to you too." Jane sighed heavily at him and he rolled his eyes "He asked for me."

Jane frowned at him in confusion "Paddy Doyle asked to see you?"

Dean shrugged "I know, but that's what his nurse said."

Paddy looked over Maura's shoulder and beckoned Dean into the room. Maura turned and frowned at Dean before turning to Paddy questioningly. "What's going on?"

"Handing myself in. Maura. For everything...including Bulger's kid..." All other sets of eyes in the room looked at Paddy in shock. "Don't want my mistakes to hurt you...Princess." It was all too much for him as he winced in pain.

Maura replaced the mask on his face and lay a soothing hand across his forehead until he settled again. "Lay still, you'll aggravate your injuries."

He smiled proudly at his daughter before sighing deeply and closing his eyes. For the first time since Maura was born he felt at peace, not just with the people in his life but also within himself, he felt cleansed and though he knew he could never ask for her forgiveness at least he knew Maura had heard it from him.

Maura was struggling back into her wheelchair when she felt that warm hand support her lower back and she didn't have to turn to know whose hand it was. She rested her head against the slim body next to her and sighed happily. "Home."

Jane heard the whisper and chuckled softly "You need to stay in hospital Maur."

Maura pulled back slightly and scowled at the brunette as she lowered herself into the chair. "Don't."

Jane simply raised an eyebrow at the medical examiner whose chest was currently burning in hives that were spreading. She wheeled her back to her own room and knelt in front of her. "Do too."

Maura pouted at the detective "You can look after me."

"Me?! You're kidding right? I don't know one end of a band aid from the other!"

Maura lifted her hand and gently cupped Jane's face. She sighed contentedly as Jane closed her eyes and leant into her touch. Maura felt her heart burst with love as they stayed still. Her stomach fluttered again and she giggled quietly. _I feel you little Jane. I know._

Jane heard the quiet giggle and frowned at the ME. "What?"

Maura shook her head softly "Thinking about something I heard today." Jane raised an eyebrow again. "You love me."

Jane's eyes grew wide at the statement and she flushed a furious shade of red. She went to get up when Maura held her face with her other hand too and pulled her in for the gentlest of kisses. Jane's heart exploded into a million fireworks and she stared blankly at Maura.

Maura felt her heart sink as she looked at Jane's inexpressive face and she suddenly gasped in horror. _It was my mind, she didn't say that at all._ She dropped her hands from Jane's face and stammered nervously. "N-no sorry, of course you don't. I th- never mind, I just- it doesn't m- I..."

Jane cut off the medical examiner's babble with a longer kiss. As she pulled away she couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. "You are the dumbest genius I know." Maura was now the one shocked into a blank expression. "Yes Maur, I love you." She caressed the ME's soft cheek and gently trailed a finger lightly over the scar that lay on her neck that matched her own. "I'd do anything for you." Her voice cracked with emotion as the day took its toll on her.

Maura lovingly smiled at Jane and nodded softly "I know..." She brought Jane's hand to her lips and kissed it. She smiled mischievously "Although..." Jane looked up at her sharply "You didn't shoot me."

Jane frowned at the medical examiner whose eyes were sparkling with humour "What?"

"You say you'd do anything for me, but you didn't shoot me."

Jane playfully scowled at Maura "Yeah...well that's 'coz I know how much that hurts!" Both woman shared a laugh that was tinged with sadness as they both reflected on the times they came so close to losing one another. They held each other and little tighter and rested their foreheads against one another. They looked at one another through misty eyes when a cough sounded from the doorway and Jane sighed as she looked up to see Korsak in the doorway. "Yeah?"

Korsak couldn't speak for a moment; overwhelmed with emotion at seeing those two finally together. He blinked away the happy tears and produced a large purple flower. Both Jane and Maura gasped in horror and shook their heads in disbelief. "No! No!" Korsak's eyes widened as he realised his mistake and he held his hands up in surrender "No! This was left anonymously at the...um...crime scene."

_My grave._ Maura let the meaning sink in and she nodded as fresh tears spilled down her face.

Jane wrapped her arms around the medical examiner as she nodded at Korsak who left them alone. "It's over baby...it's over." She cooed as she stroked Maura's soft hair.

Maura shook her head and pulled back to look into Jane's beautiful deep eyes that were shining with love. "No. It's just beginning." She kissed the detective tenderly. "I love you Jane Rizzoli."

"I love you too."

* * *

_**just wanna thank people for sticking with this even though it hasnt been a rizzles fest, it means a lot that you guys are so supportive even when i try something new x**_

_**I feel like something to do with Constance at the end is missing but i didn't want to spoil the moment by having her and Maura talk i felt it would ruin the fluffy ending.**_

_**this was the original prompt i got from octobersky69 (again thank u so much for giving it to me) : **_

_Maura arrives at a crime scene and the body has a flower laying on it (a corpse flower- rare flower usually only found in indonesia) at first she only makes reference to it being unusual but somewhere in the back of her mind she is bothered by it. that night she has a nightmare where she is trapped in a box and can't get out._  
_Next crime scene same type of body but this time a note is left with the corpse flower, it simply states (do you remember), again that night she has a terrible nightmare, wakes up screaming, angela hears and comes to help._  
_The concept is that something happened to maura when she was a young girl that she has repressed (her parents took her to a therapist and they hypnotized her to forget what happened) but the person who took her is back and now the pieces are coming to her in a terrifying way, and it is up to jane to figure it out and stop the man before he finishes what her started with her all those years ago, and before maura loses her mind._

_**so hopefully you guys can see where i went with it and why and hopefully i did it justice!**_

_**any more prompts you guys have for me send them via twitter,fb,tumblr on here or via my blog. the next story i'm doing is another prompt from a reader.**_

_**also if you liked this please keep me in mind for the rizzles fanfic awards xx**_


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